Sheep farmer creates survey on dog attacks

A Monaghan sheep farmer is seeking submissions from flock owners for an anonymous online survey about dog attacks.

Niamh Monahan created the short survey in response to an attack on her pedigree Texel flock in the early hours on Sunday 19 January.

In the attack, four ewes carrying nine lambs and one double-five-star pedigree rams were killed.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal about the survey, Monahan said that there has been no resolution to the attack on their farm.

“There’s been nothing, no updates. The dog warden has been out, but there’s been nothing,” she said.

“We’ve had farmers from every corner of Ireland contact us to say ‘I’m so sorry to see what happened to ye, it happened to me a month ago/a year ago/ five years ago’. They are all talking about the trauma of it, how horrendous it is and how they never really get over it.

“This was our fourth attack in five years. Like everybody, we tried to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and move on, but, honestly, it’s been four times too many for us. We felt that we had to make meaningful change in some way.”

Survey

Monahan created the survey to gather information about the prevalence of dog attacks on flocks of sheep in Ireland, with the aim of pushing policymakers to create more supports for affected sheep farmers and to spread awareness of the issue with the general public.

The anonymous questionnaire, which has already had over 300 participants, is open to all sheep farmers and can be completed in less than a minute.

Participants are asked if they have been affected by a dog attack on their flock and if they are a highland or lowland enterprise.

“Sitting down in front of Martin Heydon, we want to have a lot of information and data collected and there’s a lot of it out there,” said Niamh’s father Eamonn Monahan.

“When you spoke to us last, we said we don’t know where we’ll go next. Believe me, we know where we are going now."

Niamh added: “We want to be a part of this change; we feel like we’re building fantastic momentum at the moment. We really want to push for change at government level.”

To take part in the survey, click here.

Education and awareness

Niamh, also a primary school teacher, has developed a nationwide survey for teachers about the awareness of farm safety and animal/pet behaviour.

She is calling for a dedicated section of any farm safety module to include the dangers of pet dogs to livestock and young people.

“I do feel that farm safety is a very important thing to teach in schools, but I do believe there should be a little bit mentioned about the responsibility of ownership of any animal,” added Niamh.

“There is a high chance that nearly all of them will at sometime in their life own a dog, or any pet, and they do need to realise as they go on in life that there are responsibilities to having a dog. Feeding it, walking it, all of those things, but, as well as that, making sure they are safe.

“I’d love to be able to sit down with the new Minister for Education Helen McEntee and present my findings to her and create this change in the country.”

Read more

Five pedigree sheep killed in ‘horrendous’ dog attack

Farmer left to bear costs after two sheep killed in dog attack

Kerry dog attack map could still be published

Ongoing dog attacks on sheep