The arrival of lambing season has seen farming chiefs make a plea to dog owners to end sheep worrying incidents plaguing breeders across Scotland.
NFU Scotland has reported a rise in attacks, with tens of thousands of pounds worth of prize animals killed or savaged within Tayside in the past six months alone.
If that pattern were to continue, the results could be devastating for farmers with their fields full of pregnant ewes or young lambs.
While some of the recent incidents have been linked to an increase in hare coursing, the majority are accidental, caused by dogs escaping from gardens and walkers who do not appreciate the dangers of letting their pets off the leash.
NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick said: “Spring is a pivotal time of year for farmers, with many farms seeing the arrival of new lambs and calves.
“The advice is clear, the public should not take dogs into fields where young livestock is present. We are aware that instances of livestock worrying have increased year on year, and we are disappointed to note that the number of reports continue to climb.
“We would ask the public to ensure that they are familiar with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and to ensure that where they do access fields with livestock they should ensure that dogs are under close control or consider taking an alternative route to avoid livestock altogether.
Mr McCornick said farmers were “well within their rights” to shoot a dog in the event they witness it worrying livestock.
“While we do urge our farmers to use this as a very last resort, unfortunately there have been a number of instances recently where this has been the only practicable solution to ending an attack,” he said.
The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) has also been reminding residents and visitors to the area of their responsibilities while enjoying the great outdoors with dogs.
Bruce McConachie, a Land Management Advisor at the CNPA and a farmer himself said: “Lambing time is upon us again and dog owners are being reminded they must be careful with their pets around sheep and other livestock.
“Pregnant ewes and newborn lambs are extremely vulnerable and nervous at this time of year and should not be worried by dogs that have been allowed to run loose.
“The consequences can be devastating from miscarriage to injuries as a direct result of chasing or attacks by dogs that are not in control.
“We would urge dog owners to please keep dogs on leads near farmland.”
Scottish Government figures shows that reported incidents of sheep worrying are almost double that of 2014.
Within Perth and Kinross the number of incidents reported within the past year almost exceeds that from the previous decade.
