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Seven sheep died and five more are not expected to survive among 10 injured in a dog attack on Saturday in the Ballymascanlon area of north Co Louth, local IFA representative Matthew McGreehan told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Heavily in-lamb
"They were all heavily in-lamb. The vet said some of the lambs will be dead inside them and the rest will have trouble trying to lamb," Matthew said.
The 21 remaining sheep will have suffered from stress, he added.
Two dogs of the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed are suspected of being involved and remain at large.
At least four attacks
There have been at least four attacks reported recently in Co Louth, according to Matthew, including one after which a farmer shot two large Labrador dogs last week.
"Farmers are at a wit's end, we need something done," said Matthew, calling for a central database of microchipped dogs and licenses which dog wardens north and south of the border could access to end cross-border attacks together.
"We need an after-hours service because things are getting out of hand," he added, saying resources for dog wardens were insufficient.
Earlier on Monday, Co Kilkenny sheep farmer Brian Nicholson also reported a dog attack on his farm.
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