An Aberfeldy gamekeeper has issued a plea to dog owners to take responsibility after a spate of attacks on his animals, including the death of a dozen chickens.
The gamekeeper said he is aware of three animal attacks in the last month alone.
He is scared to be identified for fear of backlash but wanted to highlight the need for dogs to be kept on leads after his chickens were killed in the latest incident.
The Perthshire man is angry the dog owner appeared to make no attempt to make anyone aware.
He said: “I’ve been in my role for 40 years now and have seen a drastic change in the attitude of dog walkers.
“If there was ever an incident in the past someone would have knocked on the door or leave a letter to let us know what had happened.
“Now folk just let their dogs off the lead and have no idea where they’re running to.”
Feathers seen all over the ground
He added: “We had around a dozen in the coup and we let them out during the day as we were doing work.
“The next day all you could see was feathers along the ground. You couldn’t hear any squawks.
“These things happen. You don’t know if people take the dead chickens and dump them elsewhere to hide them but we can always find them, either by walking along the grounds or picking up the smell.”
The gamekeeper mentioned that certain breeds, including Springer Spaniels, tend to follow their instincts, no matter how domesticated they are.
Widespread problem
He said: “This isn’t just happening around Perthshire but across the country.
“You get gundog breeds who are let off and they’ll go and start chasing pheasants and deer in the fields.
“You also see young, vulnerable wildlife who can’t fly and lose their path back to their nests after being disturbed.”
The gamekeeper also said a decline in the number of local gamekeepers has not helped.
“When I started there were dozens of gamekeepers, now there’s around three or four,” he said.
“There are times when we have to stop working on the hills due to the weather.
“That doesn’t stop people from the city driving through to take their dogs for a walk and we can’t head out to stop them.
“I’m not wanting to blame every person that comes to take their dogs for a walk but if they do happen to see an incident, please let us know rather than keep it quiet.”
Dog attacks costing farmers
Earlier this year, NFU Mutual shared the news that dog attacks on farm animals in 2022 cost the industry £1.8million.
The gamekeeper’s experiences comes shortly after a Fife farmer’s heavily pregnant ewe had to be put down following an attack by a dog, the third of its kind in three weeks.
