A distraught Fife farmer has urged owners to control their dogs after suffering a third catastrophic attack on her sheep in four weeks.
The injuries to the heavily pregnant ewe, which was carrying two lambs, were so severe that the animal had to be put down.
The loss of livestock is the third in similar incident on farmland at West Lomond Hill.
Alex Nelson, whose family have owned Urquhart Farm – a livestock and dairy business at West Lomond – for more than 80 years, told The Courier she is devastated by the latest loss.
She said: “This is the third ewe we have been forced to put down sheep in four weeks and it’s trauma we can well do without, both emotionally and financially.
“Incidents of sheep worrying on the hill are becoming so frequent we are almost getting used to it.
“The ewe, which was soon due to give birth to two lambs, was still alive when we reached her but the injuries were so severe that the decision was taken to put her down.
“Thankfully, in this case, the dog owner did have the decency to report it and stay until we arrived.
“However, after other attacks, the owners have just disappeared.”
While Alex owns the land, under right-to-roam laws as part of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, public access to the land at West Lomond is allowed.
‘Any type or breed of dog can attack’
Now, she is urging the public to respect it as working farmland and has called for all dogs owners to have control of their pets or stay away altogether.
She said: “Any type or breed of dog has the potential to attack and will do so.
“That hunting sense is within every dog and will come out it the situation arises.
“Owners are desperate to let their dogs off the lead and once they do there is no stopping or calling them back.
“Normally lambing is during March and April but ours is later during May so dogs on our farmland now is a huge danger.
“However, given the amount of public walking on our land at West Lomond now, the problem of sheep worrying is a concern all year round for us.
“There has to be a fundamental change in public attitude or it just won’t be worth continuing if if this goes on.
“We want people to respect that the hill is home to the sheep and at the very least for all dogs to be kept on leads at all times.
“If people want to allow their dogs to run free then they should really be doing so on beaches and in woodland, not on farmland.”
The latest sheep attack comes just weeks after a fellow Fife farmer lost several lambs killed in a dog attack in Kelty.
Last week, an Angus farmer shared images of serious injuries his sheep suffered in a dog attack near Dundee.
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