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Two farmers had a total of 18 factory-ready lambs killed on their farms near the village of Aughagower in Co Mayo last Thursday night. The Irish Farmers Journal spoke to one of the farmers, Eamon Flynn, who lost 15 lambs during the attack.
“I had noticed a group of sheepdogs wandering across our land the day earlier. We had a batch of 55 factory-ready lambs in one paddock and checked them around 1pm on Thursday.
"We returned on Friday morning to 12 dead and three with terrible wounds from the attack," Flynn said.
A vet was called to put down the injured three lambs and care to any of the wounded. The attack is believed to have taken place at night with a neighbouring farmer losing three lambs.
Flynn said: “Dogs can’t be let out free to wander over night with the knowledge of the harm they can cause to defenceless sheep and lambs. We notified the dog warden and he has called around to local dog owners to make them aware of the incident.
“The 40 lambs we have left have suffered from the shock of the incident and aren’t thriving as well as they had been before.”
Call for action
Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Connacht regional chair Padraic Joyce has made a call on Mayo County Council and the relevant local authorities to put further measures in place to prevent these kind of attacks.
Joyce told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We only have one dog warden in Mayo who is expected to keep attacks like these under control. Farmers never see a dog warden and the amount of dog owners caught in cases like these are minimal.
"Dog owners know this, and they will continue to let their dogs cause havoc unless the local authorities put measures in place. A good place to start is to have more dog wardens in each county.”
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