#LeadOn Workshop: Rural crime – positive way to work with the police on sheep worrying cases

10th May 2021

Time: 12pm - 1pm

Location: Online - zoom meeting

NSA's #LeadOn campaign saw great support from farmers, members of the public, other industry bodies, veterinary practices across the UK and the media, including a feature on BBC Breakfast and ITV’s Good Morning Britain, as well as coverage by a number of local radio stations.

The start of the second week of NSA’s #LeadOn Campaign included a lunchtime webinar on Monday 10th May looking at “Sheep Worrying” from the perspective of the police and from dog owners, represented by the Kennel Club.

This second of three workshops was designed to cover different aspects of sheep worrying with a view to identifying positive approaches to reduce the number of attacks and to make better use of tools and guidance currently available. It includes how best to deal with a sheep worrying incident from the perspective of the police and from the perspective of a dog owner, looking at practical ways to reduce the risk, through reporting & obtaining a crime reference number, to training methods & expertise to effective conversations between farmers & dog owners

PC Dave Allen from North Wales police gave an insight into the type of incidents that they have to deal with, which did include some graphic and distressing images, but served to underline, as Dave commented, that these are treated as sheep attacks, not just sheep worrying. Sharing a couple of videos, the audience were shown dogs attacking sheep, with dog owners showing a complete lack of concern. Dave went on to stress that farmers experiencing attacks on the sheep are victims of rural crime, it is a police criminal matter as a criminal offence under The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act and a key objective for the police in dealing with these incidents is victim support. However, he did point out that the powers of the police under current legislation in England and Wales are somewhat limited at this time.

If an attack has already happened, Dave stressed how important it is to take pictures (or a video) and to phone the police on 101 to report the crime, in his words “If you don’t report, it never happened officially!”. In addition, if the dog is unknown, experience indicates that further attacks are probable, so be prepared, and raise awareness by publicising the attack locally which may help to identify the dog. In the event of witnessing an ongoing attack, Dave pointed out that this is a “Crime in Progress” therefore call 999 to report it immediately and as some calls are handled centrally, to clearly identify your local constabulary to the operator. He went on to advise with personal safety as the first concern, how certain distraction techniques might be used, but critically not to publicise or use social media, as this could impact any investigation.

The second talk, from Stephen Jenkinson, speaking on behalf of the Kennel Club, reiterated points made by Dave, and that while the consequences can be horrific, often it is unintentional. The core message coming from the Kennel Club is “On lead around livestock, release your dog if threatened by cattle.” Stephen went on to present some statistics on dog ownership and what dog owners seek is “Happy, healthy, hassle-free dog walks, close to home, away from traffic with off-lead options.” – i.e. the demand for dog walking can be managed, but not supressed. The issue therefore is how do we get people doing the right thing in the right place at the right time, so thinking of it as a “people thing” will help determine how best to approach it. The manner in which dog owners are approached will, in many cases, determine how they might respond, Stephen’s advise was to consider how you might foster dog walkers as advocates and supporters making them part of the solution, remembering also that they may be consumers of locally produced food. In addition to working with dog owners, Stephen mentioned practical actions that can be put into place to reduce the risk, such as good gates, fences without gaps, especially at ground level, anything that prevents a dog, particularly a stray or unaccompanied one, gaining access to fields containing sheep.

The workshop is available to watch at Webinars | National Sheep Association