FARMERS are warning dog owners to keep their pets away from sheep and cattle. They have backed a call by Dorset Countryside to make sure dogs are on leads and don’t attack or worry sheep.

Farmers said that they have the right to shoot dogs as last resort if the dogs are attacking sheep or cattle.

The warning comes as ewes and newborn lambs appear across fields in West Dorset.

John Hoskin, who farms at Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, said: “We lose about half a dozen sheep every year to attacks by dogs.

“Eleven people witnessed an incident last year when a sheep was attacked.

“It sustained very serious injuries and had to be put down.”

He added: “If a dog is seen attacking a sheep we have the right to shoot it.”

Mr Hoskin stressed that it was a minority of about two per cent of dog owners who were irresponsible and that most kept their dogs on leads.

He has lost about 100 sheep to dogs in his 21 years on the farm, which includes the Maiden Castle monument.

Mr Hoskin said: “If you lose a ewe it is about £100 gone but there is also the vets’ costs and added expenses.

“There is also the welfare aspect. People look after the animals 12 months of the year, care for them and make sure the lambs survive and have a good relationship with their mother.

“Then they see it destroyed the next week. Farmers are very welfare conscious and it does upset them when an animal is killed.”

Dorset Countryside, the countryside service of Dorset County Council, warned that normally well-behaved dogs can pose a threat to sheep because their ancestors were pack-hunting predators.

Dorset NFU chairman Andy Foot, who farms at Buckland Newton, said most attacks were by unaccompanied dogs, which had been let out to roam by their owners.

He said: “Farmers have no problem with people coming out to enjoy the wonderful countryside with their dogs.

“But we want them keep to the countryside code and have to be aware that dogs need to be kept on leads, especially if there are any calves and lambs with their mothers.”

He added that some cows may attack dogs if they think their calves are under threat.