The fine of €2,500 in place for the owners of dogs which attack livestock is being reviewed and may see an increase, Minister for Rural Development Heather Humphreys has said.

On Thursday 27 January, Minister Humphreys, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State Martin Heydon launched an awareness campaign highlighting the danger of uncontrolled or unsupervised dogs around livestock, especially lambs as we begin the lambing season.

"We have a number of penalties in place and you can be fined €2,500 if it is found that your dog is out of control.

Review

"I am reviewing the policy and I am also looking at increasing the fine," Minister Humphreys said at the launch, which took place on Donie Anderson's farm in the Dublin Mountains.

"When you come out here, you see how vulnerable these sheep are, if a pack of dogs come running after them... the damage they can do to livestock and the anguish and hurt that it causes to farming families.

"Sheep will abort lambs and dogs can cause mayhem. The worrying of these sheep and the impact it will have down the road, they are never the same again once they've been attacked by dogs."

Dog owners must keep their dogs under control and know their whereabouts at all times

Minister Humphreys emphasised that dog owners must keep their dogs under control and know their whereabouts at all times to prevent them causing "untold damage to livestock right across the country."

Minister McConalogue outlined the many benefits of having a dog. However, he added that people must be wary of their nature.

"Dogs have a mind of their own and have instincts of their own and can come together at nighttime to cause serious damage without anyone knowing about it."

He also added that all dogs must be microchipped under Irish law.

Welfare

From a farmer welfare point of view, Minister Heydon said that the stress and strain on farmers who have had their sheep attacked in the past is something that a farmer "never gets over".

"Dog owners need to be acutely aware that when they don't know where their dog is, they don't know what they are doing.

"They have a responsibility to keep them in check," Minister Heydon said.

Latest figures show that 240 incidences of livestock worrying were recorded in 2020 by local authorities.

Most recently, over 100 sheep were attacked by a pack of dogs near Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, where five ewes were killed and a further three were euthanised by the attending vet soon after due to their injuries.