Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what additional steps his Department will take to reduce the number of incidents of sheep worrying.

The Government abhors irresponsible ownership which leads to dogs becoming dangerously out of control and causing injuries to people or animals. There are a number of laws and measures which police and local authorities can take to tackle dog attacks on livestock.

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 includes provisions to prosecute owners whose dogs kill, attack or chase livestock, and to seize the dogs if they are out of control. This can lead to a prison sentence of up to six months, an unlimited fine or a disqualification order which prevents the owner from keeping dogs for a certain period of time. The police can also take action under the Dogs Act 1871. This is a useful measure to help police and local authorities to deal with dogs that are out of control and dangerous, which includes being dangerous to other animals. Section 2 of the 1871 Act allows a complaint to be made by any individual, or the police, local authorities, etc., to a Magistrates’ court that a dog is “…dangerous and not kept under proper control”.

As well as these Acts there are anti-social behaviour measures, in particular the Community Protection Notice (CPN) which can be issued as a preventative measure. This means that the owner or keeper of an out of control dog could be prevented from walking it on a farmer's land. This will restrict access to when livestock is not out and ensure that the dog is kept on a lead when in fields with livestock. To breach a CPN is a criminal offence and attracts a maximum penalty of £2,500, or the option to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. It is worth noting that there are also seizure powers under the legislation.

Since April 2016, we have required all dogs to be identified by a microchip. This is quick and easy to do and provides a failsafe method of connecting dogs with their owners and has encouraged more responsible dog ownership.

Defra continues to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council Livestock Working Group which is looking at ways to reduce livestock attacks. The NFU is represented at this group and we are encouraging others in the farming and countryside community. This includes supporting the work of SheepWatch, which has produced leaflets to encourage the reporting and recording of incidents and to follow the guidance that is available on what to do when there is a dog attack.