Dogs on leads over farmland

[Richard & Patsy]

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I have seen many signs in the countryside instructing keeping dogs on leads. I have heard that farmers have the right to shoot a dog if it is, say, chasing a pregnant ewe. The sign I saw today (below) shocked me, though. I have never held his lead so tight as then.

 

[JudyN]

That's probably not legal: I found this online: 'In order for a shooting to be legal, you would have to show that you acted in the belief that your property (i.e. the sheep) was in immediate danger and that your actions were reasonable under the circumstances. What counts as ‘reasonable’ can differ in individual cases, depending on the situation. If, for example, you have had problems with a particular dog before and the owner has ignored requests to keep it under control, this would be a relevant factor.'

So if there were no sheep in sight, and/or the dog was trotting calmly by its owner's side well away from the sheep, then if the farmer did shoot the sheep he could be liable for criminal damages.

Having said that, it is of course a no-brainer that you should keep your dog on lead on that farmer's land - and, unless your dog is perfectly stock broken, on any land where there is livestock. It must be devastating for a farmer to lose sheep to dogs and maddening when dog walkers don't simply put their dogs on lead.

 

[Hemlock]

We also should be aware that a dog doesn't have to bite livestock to be a danger to it. Chasing, stalking or getting close is often enough to cause damage.

 

[JudyN]

Actually (I realised when I was cooking tea), the fact that it says 'straying' means it doesn't include stock-broken dogs walking by their owners. So it might well not be illegal after all - any dog in a field with no owner in sight is unlikely to be stock-broken and under control. Even a cute little fluffydoodle can be a danger to sheep.

 

[Tinytom]

What we have to remember are we should still have our dogs Onlead when there are livestock around ...
Many years ago my lurcher Mitzy was stock broken...we had sheep goats horses cattle ....chickens ...rabbits she was 100% perfect until we went to wales on holiday ...there were sheep in a field with a footpath and at 10 yrs old she started to chase them ....we couldn't believe it ...so I would never take the chance ...

 

[Zula77]

That sign is awful, could be put a bit more tactfully...I completely understand farmers getting irritated though. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

This day and age you have to be blunt and straight to the point. The farmers that live around me it drive them nuts. They dont mince there words because they are sick to the back teeth of having to say... can you put your dog on a lead please. One said to me , you try saying it day in day out, year after year you'd have a short fuse in the end and that's when politeness goes out of the window.

 

[JudyN]

This reminds me of the first lurcher & terrier show I went to with Jasper, in the New Forest. An announcement came over the tannoy: 'There are lots of deer in the area. Please keep your dogs on lead and do NOT let them take off out of the showground. There are marksmen standing at each corner...'

It was a stark reminder that we were definitely not at Crufts

 

[Finsky]

This day and age you have to be blunt and straight to the point. The farmers that live around me it drive them nuts. They dont mince there words because they are sick to the back teeth of having to say... can you put your dog on a lead please. One said to me , you try saying it day in day out, year after year you'd have a short fuse in the end and that's when politeness goes out of the window.

Indeed. I'm involved running allotment society around here and we have rule that state that all dogs have to be on lead when walked on the communal avenues. Members can do as they please when they are on their own plots and able to keep the dogs contained within their boundaries. There is always 'one' that try to come up with excuses for not having to keep the lead on. That rule is there for a reason and it is not difficult to comply. So now after having all warnings and notifications on sight...given printed rules....having members signs papers that they have read, understood and agreeing to comply, we are still having to remind them about it. But I'm not that polite about it anymore, it is just waste of energy and breath....instead there should on place be aware of the 'Finsky' warnings. Sharp words do work better than any 'correct type' warnings....unfortunately...