advice please

[landy]

hopefully someone can advise me on a problem i have.my neighbour hates my black cat with a passion,not a problem in itself but she ,over the year has been encouraging her deaf collie to chase the cat.again not a major problem as cat is mega fast and can jump.but the problem has now arrisen that we have 3 week old lambs round the house which look just like little black cats.have just watched said neighbour and collie plus yorkis off the lead chase up and down the road along the fence line causing ewes and lambs to spook and run .have tried to speak but just got a string of verbal abuse as neighbour walked away.what do i do and wheer do i stand legally.please help

[billmoseley]

if the dogs are coursing they ewes and lambs distress you are well within your rights to shoot the dogs no questions asked i know it sound drastic but the dog owners should know better

[ducati]

If the dogs ARE OFF THE LEAD and not under control, call the police. I'm sure they will make her see sense.

And Bill, encouraging people to shoot dogs is very dangerous, anyone harming my dogs would find their house burning down.

[_Ju_]

Ducati is right: the dogs in a public place are off the leash and uncontrolable. If I were you I might try contact the dog warden as she could give you the best advice on who to approach.
Bill, I believe that your course of action is only justifiable when the animals are on your land without a fence between the dog and animals. I would say that a farmer should only resort to this action as a last resort when their animals are under attack. It makes for very bad blood.

[billmoseley]

If the dogs ARE OFF THE LEAD and not under control, call the police. I'm sure they will make her see sense.

And Bill, encouraging people to shoot dogs is very dangerous, anyone harming my dogs would find their house burning down.

i would hope you would never let your dogs worry sheep if that was the case then there would be no problems. having seen the mess so called lovable pet dogs have made of ewes and lambs i would not hesitate to pull the trigger again.

[Ash87]

You should definitely let the police know - just keep on complaining until they go and talk to her. I was out for a walk the other night and passed a farm plastered in 'Beware of the Dog' and 'Caution - Guard dogs!' signs... Just as I was passing it two German Shepherds came haring up the drive and leaped right over the gate onto the road barking and growling! Luckily a woman in a truck was passing and I flagged her down and hopped in! I called the police to complain and they said that they couldn't do anything because the dogs hadn't actually bitten me... great. But I'd advise you to just keep hassling them to do something, you cant let her carry on acting like this.

[ducati]

i would hope you would never let your dogs worry sheep if that was the case then there would be no problems. having seen the mess so called lovable pet dogs have made of ewes and lambs i would not hesitate to pull the trigger again.

Then be ready to come home to a 'real fire'

[porthos]

Just type "sheep worrying" into google. I found some really interesting information whilst browsing, especially in an online article at http://www.mycountryside.org.uk/2009/05/26/dogs-and-sheep-lamb-worrying/


if the dogs are coursing they ewes and lambs distress you are well within your rights to shoot the dogs no questions asked i know it sound drastic but the dog owners should know better
The law is quite surprising about that - it seems that "sheep worrying" is not a reason for shooting a dog but a legal defence in case the shooter is taken to court. On the other hand, here is an article from The Scotsman. It's a couple of years old but I don't know if that makes any difference http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Farmer-shoots-dog-that-was.3860360.jp

[Commore]

hopefully someone can advise me on a problem i have.my neighbour hates my black cat with a passion,not a problem in itself but she ,over the year has been encouraging her deaf collie to chase the cat.again not a major problem as cat is mega fast and can jump.but the problem has now arrisen that we have 3 week old lambs round the house which look just like little black cats.have just watched said neighbour and collie plus yorkis off the lead chase up and down the road along the fence line causing ewes and lambs to spook and run .have tried to speak but just got a string of verbal abuse as neighbour walked away.what do i do and wheer do i stand legally.please help

I am a dog lover, but if I was in your position I'd put in writing via a lawyer that if she does not control her dogs with immediate effect that you'd be well within your rights to shoot her dogs, and make sure she understands what she sees in black and white, make no bones about it, a shot over the bow has to be worth a try.
failing that, direct her to this thread.

[madman]

shoot the owner you would be doing us all a favour lol!!

[billmoseley]

Then be ready to come home to a 'real fire'
save on my fuel bills. but seriously it's not a nice thing to have to do but some owners really don't care about what their dogs are getting up to the case on our farm the owners had been asked nicely a few times and warned that their dogs would be shot but they seemed to think it was all just a joke. after several dead lambs we were left with no choice it was dont as humanly as possable

[landy]

thankyou for all your advice.sadley the said neighbour seems to think she is above the law so i dont think that a legal letter would help.but will try to get it on video and give it to the police.other than that i like the shoot the neighbour idea!! only joking....hopefully if the mild weather holds will move lambs and ewes to one of the back fields out of reach.thanks again

[unicorn]

Why should you have to do that for an ignorant pig of a creature who has no respect for you or your livelihood.
Go straight to the police and do so each time she does this.

[All boxed up]

Think your only answer Landy is to get the police out or a solicitors letter warning her of the consequences of not controlling her dogs properly and causing unnecessary distress to your livestock that you have worked hard produce, and should damage or worse god forbid death occur due to worrying recompence will be sought. Hope you get this sorted out, some people are so damn ignorant xx

[Leanne]

You are within you rights to shoot the dog (providing you have notified the police first). The dog does not have to have bitten livestock to be classed as causing harm if the ewes are pregnant of have lambs at foot - the distress is enough to cause rejection/abortion.

Maybe the dog owner is Ducati - an attitude like that does not show respect for animal life and proves that some people don't deserve to have animals in their life.

[northener]

You are within you rights to shoot the dog (providing you have notified the police first). The dog does not have to have bitten livestock to be classed as causing harm if the ewes are pregnant of have lambs at foot - the distress is enough to cause rejection/abortion.

Maybe the dog owner is Ducati - an attitude like that does not show respect for animal life and proves that some people don't deserve to have animals in their life.

Leanne, the OP is NOT within their rights to shoot the dogs as they are not running amongst stock. If there's a fence between them, then the dogs are deemed not to be direct threat to the welfare of the stock. If they were running amongst the stock, then that's different.

[purplelady]

I know it is annoying but i cannot see landy shooting the dogs she is a absolute animal lover who wud not intentionaly hurt any animal speak to the dog warden see what she says xxxxxxxx

[Commore]

thankyou for all your advice.sadley the said neighbour seems to think she is above the law so i dont think that a legal letter would help.but will try to get it on video and give it to the police.other than that i like the shoot the neighbour idea!! only joking....hopefully if the mild weather holds will move lambs and ewes to one of the back fields out of reach.thanks again

Sadly, there are a lot of people like her,playing russian roulette with her pets, your lambs lives however, are your responsibility and as such you a legally and morally entitled / obliged to protect them,
Shoot the dogs,