NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe is petitioning farmers and members of the public to do more to prevent cases of livestock worrying, and on Wednesday called upon police forces to investigate incidents and prosecute those that act irresponsibly.
 
The NFU chair’s appeal comes after four dogs were shot in North Wales for worrying sheep in as many days. Sgt Rob Taylor of North Wales Police's rural crime unit spoke out after a dog was shot at Llanrwst over the bank holiday weekend, and three more were shot in south Gwynedd on Tuesday, telling the BBC that 1,500 sheep had been lost due to dog attacks in the last two years in over 300 incidents.

This week, NFU’s Charles Sercombe will be speaking at the Sheepwatch UK event in Loughborough. Ahead of the event, he said, “Livestock worrying has a devastating impact on animal welfare and the farm businesses. We need to continually reiterate to the public as part of our Love Your Countryside campaign there is the ever increasing need for vigilance and take responsibility for their dogs to prevent straying and to keep them under control when walking near livestock.
 
“What I will be saying to farmers is that we need to be very mindful of how difficult it is to pursue a criminal case when these incidents occur as gathering evidence is notoriously difficult. However, I would by no means say in some cases this isn’t necessary. All too often we hear about repeat cases of worrying where dog owners allow their pet to roam free around livestock – let’s be clear this is wholly unacceptable and these cases must be addressed by the authorities.”
 
Sercombe recommended that farmers experiencing repeated problems speak to their local police force and explore ways of preventing cases of livestock worrying and means of gathering evidence. He said, “Only in the last resort should farmers considered shooting the dog.”
 
He said that, in light of a growing appreciation of the problem, the union is working to raise the profile of the problem amongst farmers. Police forces say they are seeking to make reporting crime easier through rural crime teams liaising with farmers in areas including North Wales, Wiltshire and Nottinghamshire. Sercombe continued, “This year has seen the launch of new dog signs to remind the public to keep their dogs on a lead and there is a business guide which details to farmers what options they have when an incident occurs. We hope these, along with the other initiatives, like the event this week will decrease this growing problem on livestock farms.”