Police urge Derbyshire dog owners to take responsibility after spike in attacks on livestock

The Derbyshire Rural Crime Team (DRCT) has reported that the number of incidents involving dog attacks on livestock has risen across the county – with hundreds of incidents being reported in 2022.

A DRCT spokesperson said: “The issue of livestock worrying is an ongoing problem for farmers across the country. During 2022, Derbyshire Police recorded 116 cases in our county. It’s likely that the real number of instances is higher as often cases go unreported.

“Unfortunately, incidents of dogs attacking or chasing sheep seem to be on the increase despite campaigns and raising awareness, and of course enforcement activity by police.

“The very nature of our rural county means that cases are widespread and occur across the whole of Derbyshire. This makes it hard to target specific areas for prevention and means we need to rely on raising awareness, media and local signage.

“Ultimately, dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dogs and it’s often the case that ignorance is the root cause. A common misconception quoted is ‘my dog would never attack sheep’, which is repeatedly proven wrong, causing suffering to livestock and financial loss to the farmer – which can be significant depending upon the type of livestock.”

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Farmers and members of the public were urged to report any instances of dogs worrying livestock. The DRCT also stressed the importance of noting the identify of the dog owners or their vehicle details if possible, so they can be traced if they leave the scene of the incident.