Do you know where your dog went last night?
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| At an event in Ardclough to highlight sheep worrying were Sgt John Dunne, Newbridge Garda; Niamh O'Connor; Denis Halpin, chair of Kildare West Wicklow IFA; Henry O'Connor, Ardclough IFA; Joe Neville TD; Marie Gaynor, KCC; Aine Clinch, KCC; Seamus Deay, Dog Warden; Lindsey Fitzpatrick, Dog Warden; Sasha Bowler; Cllr Peggy O’Dwyer; Louis Dunne and Daniel McNally, IFA. |
It's a time of the year when reports of dogs worrying sheep make headlines, sometimes with very distressing photographs of animals which have been savaged, writes Brian Byrne. Behind such images is heartbreak for the farmers concerned, and a harrowing effect on up to 60 flocks in the Kildare West Wicklow area each year.
That's the number of flocks which are 'hunted' by dogs each year, according to Denis Halpin, chairman of Kildare West Wicklow IFA. It's likely not the full figure, because not all such incidents are reported. The system of dealing with sheep worrying is cumbersome, and there's a move to try and make reporting incidents more structured and efficient between farmer, council and the Garda. At the core of this is a call for greater enforcement of dog licences, the requirement for which Denis Halpin says 'thousands' of dog owners simply ignore.
Ardclough farmer Henry O'Connor, whose flock has experienced numerous worrying incidents over years, says that linking the legal but separate requirements of chipping and licensing dogs is part of the answer. Just like a Garda can now scan a car number plate and get insurance, tax and owner information, a check by a vet on a microchip should be able to show if the animal's owner has a current licence for it.
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| Denis Halpin and Henry O'Connor. |
Denis Halpin says a properly developed enforcement system would be self-funding and the council wouldn't have to be funding dog wardens. "The extra income from the scheme would actually allow for many more wardens to be employed directly," he says, adding that it would also provide a funding stream to provide more kennel space for stray or seized dogs, necessary because existing kennels are generally full.
Two dog wardens are currently employed by Kildare County Council to deal with the whole county. While there are plans to double that number, it's a very big stretch for them to monitor whether the owners of at least 25,000 pet dogs are in compliance with licensing regulations. And there are limits on their powers.
A dog owner can be prosecuted for not having a licence, but that prosecution has to be taken by a garda, supported by the warden as a witness. Any subsequent fine has to be collected, by the Sheriff if it is not paid voluntarily. "That means most fines for dog licences just don't get paid," says Denis Halpin. Also, a warden can't simply take a dog from its owner — seizure or destruction orders have to be issued by a court before the dog can be taken. "In many cases, those dogs will have been moved on in the interim, to a relative maybe," Denis Halpin adds.
Henry O'Connor says most culprits are ordinary dogs, in many cases let out in the morning when their owners go to work. "Or they can be let out at night when their owners come home, and then it's worse because nobody can see what's going on." Because dogs like to hunt in packs, one left out will find a couple more, "and then there's huge damage done."
Apart from physical savaging, trauma from just being chased is equally distressful, if not more so. "All it takes at this time of the year is a worry and the ewes can lose their lambs," Henry O'Connor says. "If the lamb dies inside the ewe, that causes huge problems. And even if the lamb is successfully born, between the trauma of the birth and the effects of the hunt before they are born, they can die after as little as ten or fifteen minutes because their hearts aren't able to take the stress." He adds that 'hunting' a flock will stress sheep so much that it can take them up to two months to recover. "They're not just all right again the next day."
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