I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953; and for connected purposes.
Earlier this year, one of the farmers in my constituency suffered a horrific attack on his sheep. Tecwyn Jones found seven pregnant ewes and three rams dead in his field in Bodedern. They had been killed by an unknown dog or dogs in what police described as a “brutal and horrendous attack.”
When I visited Tecwyn’s farm, he told me about the impact the attack had had on his business and his wellbeing. His account of the event was harrowing. Tecwyn shared the awful moment when he found his sheep: coming across one dead sheep, then another dead sheep. They were sheep he had lovingly reared, their faces torn and bodies twisted. His sheep had been brutally killed and had clearly suffered horrendously.
The dogs that carried out the attack have never been identified. Even if a dog were suspected, the law has no teeth to identify and seize it unless it is found unsupervised at the scene of the assault. For Tecwyn, it was not just the financial loss that hit him, although that went into thousands of pounds, but the emotional loss of these prized animals, which he had put his time and devotion into rearing.
Tecwyn is not alone. This is a huge issue for farmers across the UK. Livestock worrying takes place when dogs that are not kept under proper control attack or chase livestock, particularly sheep. Although attacks are not officially recorded, and it is widely accepted that many incidents go unreported, it is estimated that around 15,000 sheep are killed by dogs each year.
With the increase in visitors to the countryside during lockdowns, incidents of livestock worrying have grown over the past 18 months, and the financial impact has increased. Data from the National Farmers Union indicates that the average insurance claim for attacks is over £1,300, and some claims rise to tens of thousands of pounds. In 2020, the cost of livestock worrying to the farming community was estimated to be around £1.3 million.
I first became involved with this matter when local farmers such as Brian Bown and Peter Williams raised it as a significant concern. I met Rob Taylor, Dave Allen and their colleagues from the North Wales police rural crime team, who have been working with farmers, such as the NFU county adviser Iestyn Pritchard, to gather data and work through proposed solutions. It soon became apparent to me that the legislation currently covering livestock worrying, the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, is outdated and no longer fit for purpose. It is hardly surprising given that it has barely been touched in 68 years. It has not kept pace with dog ownership, leisure trends, DNA technology or modern farming practice.
Earlier this year, as part of the Government’s animal welfare action plan and as set out in the Queen’s Speech, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs introduced the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. Part 2 of the Bill addresses dogs attacking or worrying livestock. Although I welcome its content, I share the concerns of farmers across the UK that it still does not go far enough. Yes, it gives the police greater powers to tackle livestock worrying incidents and it expands the scope of species that are afforded protection to include llamas, ostriches and game birds, but it still fails to give farmers the security they so desperately need.