Government should introduce legislation to ban all non-working dogs from the hills and farmland, according to the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA).

INHFA vice-president John Joe Fitzgerald said that while an inter-departmental working group was established last February to combat the issue of dog attacks on livestock, nothing concrete has been delivered that will console sheep farmers about the ongoing threat.

Fitzgerald criticised the Government's inaction following a second dog attack on Tomas O'Leary's farm in Beaufort, Co Kerry, which resulted in 11 lambs being killed and a further 18 left with injuries.

Responsibility

Minister for Rural Affairs Heather Humphreys has the lead responsibility on measures to prevent dog attacks. However, Fitzgerald declared “there seems to be a lack of urgency”.

He stressed the need for the minister and her department to meet with farming organisations as soon as possible.

The INHFA vice-president called for a meeting with the minister to “provide impacted farmers and their representatives with the opportunity to highlight their concerns and detail the actions necessary to address this increasing problem”.

Fitzgerald added that “it will also provide Minister Humphreys and her officials with the opportunity to explain what actions they have planned and the timescales to implement these actions”.

Ban

Bringing in legislation to ban non-working dogs from the hills and farmland would “remove any ambiguity about access with dogs and challenge the minority that don’t understand or are not willing to respect landowner’s property”, Fitzgerald added.

Legislation such as this, the INHFA vice-president stressed, “would need heavy sanctions and strong enforcement”.

“Many farmers like Tomas O’Leary arrive when the dogs are long gone. There is the added concern that these dogs will return and this could be days or weeks later.”

He stated: "As part of the microchipping programme, we should look at getting a DNA sample from all dogs, a sample that could potentially be matched from saliva where a sheep attack or an attack against a person has occurred.”

Fitzgerald emphasised the necessity for action now and said “that farmers are no longer willing to tolerate the total indifference of the responsible authorities in dealing with this very serious matter and need to see immediate action on it”.