Suffolk shepherd's warning after dogs worry sheep to death

In one case a Hebridean lamb suffered a damaged back and when it failed to recover had to be put down. In another, a Whitefaced Woodland ewe - a very rare breed with fewer than 900 registered females worldwide - died of stress.

Andrew Capell is an area ranger for the National Trust - and his flocks of sheep - many of them rare breed animals - carry out vital work maintaining important sites such as Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, through their grazing.

The Hebridean lamb became wobbly on its legs after a dog - apparently playful rather than attacking - ran alongside it causing it stress.

"We had it in a pen but in the end we had to put it down," he said.

The ewe was an older animal. "It was by a footpath and looked like it had died of exhaustion," he said. "It's the stress and exhaustion that just kills them - especially if they are an older female. A lot of our sheep we keep for their entire lives."

The lambing season has already started for Andrew, with a Hebridean sheep giving birth to three lambs. His lambing season is only small-scale, but will continue until April.

Andrew is operating in many public access areas and has posted Suffolk Rural Crime Team posters warning dog owners about how to behave at every access point.

Dogs getting too near could have a devastating effect, he said, and warned owners to keep their pets on short leads and to stick to the paths rather than allowing their animals to wander on extendable leads.

In one incident, a dog owner had his animal on an extendable lead which became entangled as the dog tried to avoid a ewe guarding its lamb, he said.

A survey by farm insurers NFU Mutual of more than 1,100 dog owners found despite 64% of owners admitting their dogs chase animals, almost half (46%) believe their dog was not capable of injuring or killing livestock.

NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist Hannah Binns feared some dog owners were blinded by the love of their pets - and don't appreciate the danger in a largely arable region. 

"The eastern region has fewer grazing livestock than most parts of the UK as much of the land is used for arable farming," she said.

"We’ve heard reports from farmers that dog walkers are becoming more distracted, often on their mobile phones with their pets out of sight, and are seemingly unaware of the carnage their dog could cause."