Dog attack 'horrifies' farmer after 24 sheep killed

A farmer who had 24 pregnant sheep killed by two XL American Bulldogs has said he is still struggling to come to terms with the "horrifying" attack.

Paul Jones also said 46 ewes were hurt after the two dogs were "savaging them" in a barn at his north Wales farm.

"We do see dog attacks but I've never seen anything with this devastation," he said. "The sheep were confined in the shed, they couldn't get out."

The dogs were shot and their owner was banned for keeping dogs and fined £900.

It took a vet 10 hours to stitch up his injured ewes, while police said dog attacks on animals were "too common".

Mr Jones said it was not just the emotional toll of the attack - he also lost £14,000 and only recouped half from his insurance company.

His horror story began when he noticed some sheep loose on the yard at Rhos Farm in Rhosllanerchrugog, just south of Wrexham, in March and went to investigate.

"I let go one of my small sheep dogs and came around the corner to find two sheep in the yard, basically ripped apart," Mr Jones recalled.

He then heard a "huge commotion" in one of his barns and found two dogs he later learned were American XL bulldogs, in the middle of the ewes, "savaging them".

Mr Jones said one of the dogs also came out on to the yard and tried to attack him before he was able to retreat.

"We do see dog attacks on farms, at most four or five injured or killed, but nothing of this severity," he said.

"It was horrifying. Everyone who attended that day, it affected."

He shot both dogs dead and said his "only solace" is that it was him facing that dog and not his son or elderly mother.

"They threw those sheep around like they were paper," Mr Jones recalled.

He said his insurance company only paid out about half of the £14,000 he lost in the attack because they only pay compensation for dead animals, not injured ones. He also said his insurance premium has now doubled.

"I don't know how long it will take us to recover," he said.

The Farmers Union of Wales said dog attacks can have a "tremendous" impact on farming families, leaving them at "financial and emotional breaking point."

It said attacks continued despite industry campaigns aimed at dog owners and that it had called for increased police powers for tougher penalties for offenders.

"We continue to lobby to make it mandatory for dogs to be kept on a lead in fields near or adjacent to livestock," an FUW spokesman said.

The dogs' owner David Hughes, 26, admitted to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and being the owner of a dog worrying livestock at Wrexham Magistrates' Court last week.

Hughes, from Pen y Wern, in Rhos, was banned from keeping dogs for five years and fined £900.

North Wales Police said dog attacks like the one Mr Jones suffered were "too common".

"It is so important to ensure pets are always kept on a lead and under control around in the countryside - or if left at home alone, that the house or garden are secure," said PC Chris Jones of North Wales Police's Rural Crime Team.

"A dog's owner is the only person who can prevent an attack from happening, and you may have to pay the ultimate price if you cannot control your animal."