West Dorset farmers react to livestock worrying laws

The news comes as a third reading of a public member's bill introduced to tackle the issue is being discussed in Parliament.

The bill is effectively a continuation of efforts that came from the campaign known as Gladis' law - named after a cow which died in west Dorset.

If passed it would see police officers given greater powers to deal with livestock attacks with the ability to detain dogs they believe to be involved.

The new legislation would also give officers greater powers to take samples from livestock and dogs to assist in investigations.

The issue of livestock attacks has been a longstanding source of tension in rural communities.

As reported, a sheep was killed in March in a dog attack on farmland between Broadwindsor and Pilsdon Pen.

Cameron Farquharson (Image: Cameron Farquharson)

West Dorset farmer Cameron Farquharson has been leading a campaign for tougher laws after his Highland cow Gladis was chased by a dog in 2021 and died after falling 40ft at Eggardon Hill.

Government plans to strengthen the law were stalled when the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, also known at Gladis' law, was withdrawn in June last year.

These new changes brought forward in the private member's bill would be an amendment to the Protection of Livestock Act 1953.

Mr Farquharson has also lost several sheep due to dog attacks over the years and says this potential new law doesn’t go ‘far enough’.

He said: “We have been helping to push that bill through with Chris Loder, but we are really after stronger penalties – I don't think it goes far enough - in Scotland there are £40,000 fines or six months in prison.

“What we are trying to fight for is keeping them on leads when walking through fields with livestock.

“I’ve been fighting for this campaign for three years.”

Mr Farquharson says that his campaign has had ‘some input’ on the proposed legislation, but he feels it has been ‘brushed aside’.

He added: “As a campaign and a farmer we say it needs to be harder – a bigger fine or imprisonment if it keeps repeating.

“I am hoping we can keep lobbying our MPs and somebody will listen to us."

Cameron Farquharson (L) and James Bowditch (R) (Image: Supplied)

James Bowditch, a farmer from Netherbury, also believes that members of the public need to be better informed on the rules of the countryside and isn’t convinced the new laws are the right idea.

He said: “Uncontrolled dogs I have a huge disdain for – it’s not the dog - it’s the owner.  

“From my lifetime of farming the most harrowing thing I saw when I was young was two dogs murder 200 sheep – it flicks back in your mind like it was yesterday.

"Working on a farm for 40 years it is one of worst and most traumatic things I have seen – it ripped out four generations of farming in one afternoon – all that hard work was gone.

“I think a dog owner has to be made accountable for their dog if it is causing damage to a farmer’s livestock.  

He added: “The financial loss is huge for a farmer – we love our animals and to see them destroyed by another animal is very upsetting.”

“It’s not a solution in my point of view.

“It’s education we must give people, not taking their dog away, it’s just going to cause huge friction.”