Appeal after 25 sheep killed in dog attack leaving Kerry farmer devastated
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who might have seen dogs in the Ventry area on Sunday to come forward and help them with their inquiries. File picture
Gardaí in Kerry are appealing to dog owners to keep their pets tied up, particularly at night, as the storm season gets under way.
The appeal comes after the latest dog attack on sheep in the county, this time on valuable Dorset sheep in West Kerry. Some 25 pedigree ewes were killed overnight on Sunday in a savage dog attack that has left the farmer devastated.
The attack occurred in Ventry, and it is understood the dog or dogs involved may have escaped from their homes after being frightened by the storm.
The sheep in question are Dorset ewes, a valuable breed of pedigree sheep.
Sheep were being brought down from the hills for the ramming season, Garda Aidan O'Mahony said.
"It’s ram season. Make sure dogs are either indoors or tied up at night," he said.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who might have seen dogs in the Ventry area on Sunday to come forward and help them with their inquiries.
The latest attack on sheep follows a number of others in the county. In April, some 70 ewes and 20 lambs on the remote mountain at Gleesk, near Castlecove, were chased, torn and many driven into the sea at Kenmare Bay.
The farmer who owned them said many of the sheep drowned.
The IFA has repeatedly warned dog attacks are escalating and has called for stronger sanctions. The farming body estimates there are some 800,000 dogs in the country, and only a quarter of them are licensed.
"This leaves almost 600,000 without identification or association to a responsible keeper," the IFA has said previously.
It has also said dog owners should not be allowed bring their animals near farmland and has consistently called for a single national database for all dogs in the country that identifies the person responsible for the dog, along with microchipping of all dogs.
