The Farmers’ Union of Wales has written to Minister of State (Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs) the RtHon Lord Benyon, requesting changes in the legislation surrounding livestock attacks to be cemented in the King’s speech in November, following the U-turn on the UK Kept Animals Bill in the summer.
Writing to Lord Benyon, the FUW highlighted that dog attacks on livestock in Wales and England continue to represent a significant financial, emotional and welfare issue for hard-working farming families.
Although sparse, where data on livestock attacks has been recorded by rural crime forces, the results demonstrate that this is a highly important issue which shows no sign of declining. For example, data published by North Wales Police reported more than 100 attacks in a 12 month period in 2013; with significant injuries and mortality levels reported.
Further analysis of North Wales farms showed that there were 449 cases of livestock attacks between 2013 and 2017, thereby demonstrating the ongoing and relentless nature of these crimes. In addition, over the same 4 year period, data from 5 forces - North Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall, Sussex, North Wales and Hertfordshire - found that there were 1705 recorded incidents of livestock worrying and attacks in the five force areas.
During these incidents, 1928 animals were killed, and 1614 injured at an estimated cost to farming businesses of £250,000. It is noteworthy that 11 per cent of the incidents involved repeat offenders.
Despite such significant statistics, the FUW believes that this represents a mere fraction of the total losses experienced by our membership.
In the letter, the FUW stresses:
At present, neither the police nor other agencies are required by the Home Office to record statistics of livestock attacks or mortalities and the FUW believes that this crime remains significantly under-reported and under-recorded.
The inability to officially monitor the extent and impact of the issue - coupled with a lack of police powers to bring offenders to justice - has eroded confidence in reporting amongst our membership.
The Union further highlighted that the lack of a substantive legal framework means that there is no real deterrent for offenders.
Alongside the mandatory recording of dog attacks on livestock by all Welsh police forces, the FUW believes that a failure to report a dog attack should be an offence in order to ensure that badly injured sheep are not left with significant welfare issues.
In addition, the fines levied on offenders should be proportionate to the serious financial and welfare outcomes of this crime and should allow for full compensation. The Union also called for the legal framework relating to this issue to ensure that police forces have the powers requisite to allow for the proper investigation, enforcement and penalisation of such crimes.
This includes powers relating to search and seize, powers to obtain DNA samples from suspect dogs, powers to confiscate dogs , powers to ban owners from keeping another dog and powers of dog destruction after conviction.
The evidence surrounding the nature and extent of dog attacks on livestock has led the FUW to believe that the only way to properly tackle such crimes is by introducing new legislation which is fit-for-purpose and which recognises the significant - and avoidable - losses experienced by hard-working farming families following a dog attack.
It is now incumbent on the Government to protect rural communities by ensuring that these elements of the UK Kept Animals Bill are brought forward and it is therefore necessary for these elements to be raised again and included in the forthcoming King’s Speech in November.