One of Scotland’s top sheep breeders was left reeling in horror after discovering his prize winning flock of pedigree sheep had been savaged.
Farmer Tom Paterson fears he has lost thousands of pounds and his livestock suffered as-yet-unquantified damage as a result of the dog attack.
Snow-covered fields at Dunruchan near Muthill in Perthshire were left sprayed with blood and his prized flock scattered in the wake of the attack.
With Mr Paterson and his wife Mairi away following morning feeding, his son Robert discovered the carnage.
Mr Paterson and his family found one pregnant ewe had been killed, while a number of others had their hind legs so badly mauled they will never walk properly again.
They included one ewe that placed first in its class at last year’s Perth Show and which was to have competed at Stirling this week and the family fear the trauma will have taken its toll on the pregnant animals..
It is the latest of a spate of incidents across that have cost traumatised farmers tens of thousands of pounds.
Police Scotland has set rural crime officers on the hunt for the dog and its irresponsible owner. Recent searches for the perpetrators of sheep worrying have proved tricky, however, and one criminal case raised following an attack near Auchterarder was dropped this week.
Farms near Alyth, Auchterarder, Blairgowrie, Crieff, Dunkeld and Balado have all suffered the loss of animals in recent months.
Mr Paterson – who will judge the Champion of Champions prize at this year’s Perth Show – said: “We had driven the flock into the field to get them ready for the shows, with the season starting at Stirling this week.
“The ewes had been fed that morning and my son came up to the field in the afternoon to check on them.
“It was the day of the snow and he found the field covered in blood with the sheep scattered to all four corners.
“The dog itself was long gone but it had clearly got in among them and made a real mess. It left one dead and attacked a lot of hind legs.
“Some of the ewes will never walk right again and many are heavily with lamb.
“We won’t know the full extent of the damage until they have pregnancy scans in a fortnight or so and maybe not even then.”
Mr Paterson said it was difficult to put a monetary figure on the attack, but estimates it could be thousands.
“One of the ewes attacked and injured was bought for £2,300 and the show ewe will be worth even more,” he said.
“It is difficult to do much to protect your livestock. The whole thing comes down to luck.
“It is just people being careless with their dogs. People are of course entitled to walk their dogs in rural areas. I have no problem with that. But they must look after them.”
Sheep worrying has become so widespread the number of incidents reported in the past four months almost exceeds that from the previous six years combined.
NFU Scotland is expected to publish a report on sheep worrying in the coming months.
Police Scotland’s Inspector Kevin Chase said: “Owners have to be vigilant when out walking their dogs and make sure their dog is on a lead at all times when sheep are present.”
