A FARMER in west Dorset who is campaigning to make it mandatory for dogs to be on a lead near livestock has had more of his animals viciously attacked.

Cameron Farquharson, whose heavily pregnant Highland cow Gladis fell 40ft to her death after being chased by a dog last year sparking a national campaign to give farm animals greater protection, has told of his heartache after more of his livestock was attacked.

The attacks in recent weeks include incidents involving lambs and another pregnant Highland cow, all in the area of Eggardon Hill farm, near Askerswell.

Dorset Echo:

The latest incident involving a ewe being attacked happened at around 1pm last Friday.

Currently it is a criminal offence for a dog to be ‘off a lead or not otherwise under close control’ in a field of livestock.

Campaigners want this changed so owners would have to put their dogs on a lead ‘whenever livestock is present’.

The death of Gladis last year prompted a petition and huge public support for change. It led to government making a clear commitment to support a request for legislation to amend the law.

Mr Farquharson was unable to talk to the News himself due to a family emergency but has shared a video online sharing his anger.

In it he says: "I've just had another dog attack on Eggardon Hill this morning.

"I have held back and held back. Two weeks ago we lost nine lambs and a Highland cow with a calf - the calf was five months old.

"Now I have got another ewe that has been attacked and I hope it upsets people because it upsets me. They're my animals, this is getting ridiculous.

"What is it going to take, when are people going to keep their dogs on leads? How hard is it?"

Reflecting on the recent attack Jon Lee, a spokesperson for the Gladis campaign, said: “Cam is really upset. Just in the last week he has lost eleven animals (mostly from livestock 'attacks'). He has lost around £7.5k-£10.5k in recent weeks which is big as a small farmer although he is insured.

“If you know Cam you know animals are his family so he is really upset. This type of thing is really affecting farmers.

“People so blatantly walk through fields with livestock with dogs off their lead. There are signs up telling people to put dogs on a lead and yet people still do it.

“People always think that their dog won't do that but dogs do.”

Following recent incidents, a group of dog walkers have offered their support to help combat the issue.

Mr Lee continued: “We have a group of people who want to patrol the area, a lot of them dog owners who want to help by handing out leaflets and talking to others.

“The owners that are responsible give a bad reputation to other dog walkers and this group want to change that by going out there and finding them.

“I used to think it was tourists but it is locals that are doing it too and we have had messages from other farmers all over the country who have experienced similar problems.”

Mr Lee says the way to prevent further incidents like this is for ‘prosecutions’ to take place to ‘teach people a lesson’.

He added: “We have the bill going through Parliament, for Gladis’ law, and that is going through the House of Lords soon - we want to see progression and get some movement but it is not expected to go to Royal ascent until May.”

Dorset Police urged people to report such incidents to the police.