{"id":17774,"date":"2022-08-04T12:53:04","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=17774"},"modified":"2022-08-04T12:53:04","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:53:04","slug":"a-view-from-the-farm-with-adam-henson-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2022\/08\/04\/a-view-from-the-farm-with-adam-henson-3\/","title":{"rendered":"A view from the farm with Adam Henson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A view from the farm<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n

Adam Henson<\/h2>\n\n
\n\n

WE MUST STOP DOGS ATTACKING LIVESTOCK <\/span><\/p>\n\n

\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

There\u2019s a reason why dogs are called \u2018man\u2019s best friend\u2019. They are companionable, faithful and good for our health, reducing stress, loneliness and depression, not to mention all those calorieburning daily walks. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Most farmers own at least one dog and they have always been a part of my life. I\u2019ve had working dogs, like my border collie Peg, who was such a hit with Countryfile <\/em>viewers before we retired the old girl earlier this year, as well as house dogs, such as my Hungarian wirehaired vizsla, Olive, and our miniature dachshund, Minnie \u2013 both fabulous breeds and, in terms of height, opposite ends of the scale. <\/p>\n\n

But with all the joy of being a dog-owner comes responsibility, and while the majority of people are sensible with their pets, it breaks my heart every time I hear about livestock being attacked by dogs. It\u2019s happened far too often on our own farm, when dogs have been let off their leads to run around, only to go after the sheep \u2013 with horrific consequences. Take it from me, you don\u2019t want to see what\u2019s left of a ewe after it\u2019s been mauled by a set of sharp teeth and claws.It\u2019s rarely the dog\u2019s fault and more to do with owners having no control of their pets or believing that their animal is \u2018only playing\u2019 with the sheep.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The law is clear, though \u2013 afarmer has a legal excuse to shoot a dog if their sheep need to be protected from an attack. No farmer wants to do that and <\/span>shooting would only ever be a last resort, but I wonder how many pet-owners know it\u2019s a possibility? On one occasion, a dog that attacked our flock had to be put down; it was a sad outcome for all concerned, but if a dog harms or kills once, there\u2019s a high risk that it will do it again.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Adam and his border collie Peg. To protect livestock, dog owners need to take responsibility for their pet\u2019s behaviour <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
CANINE CARNAGE <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

While it\u2019s hard to know exactly how many farm animals are maimed and killed every year, one estimate puts fatalities at more than 15,000. That doesn\u2019t include the many attacks each year that go unreported. What we can be certain about is that the cost to farm livelihoods is on the up. The latest figures from the insurers NFU Mutual reveal that claims involving dog attacks on livestock rose to more than \u00a31.5 million last year. <\/p>\n\n

According to the business\u2019s rural affairs specialist, Rebecca Davidson, it could get worse. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a new generation of dog owners whose pandemic puppies are coming of age, and they simply don\u2019t know how their dog is going to behave around livestock.\u201d However, the Countryside Code offers really clear practical advice to dog walkers and is available at their fingertips (literally) in the online version. <\/span>It says:<\/p>\n\n

\u2022 Keep your dog under effective control to make sure it stays away from wildlife, livestock, horses and other people unless invited to approach. <\/strong><\/strong>
\u2022 Always keep your dog on a lead or in sight. <\/strong><\/strong>
\u2022 Be confident your dog will return on command. <\/strong><\/strong>
\u2022 Make sure your dog does not stray from the path or area where you have right of access. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

As a reminder, we recently put up new signs on the two-mile Wildlife Walk around our farm to emphasis the open-access rule, that dogs must be on a short lead at all times from 1 March to 31 July and at any time of the year when livestock are nearby. <\/p>\n\n

If it\u2019s enough to save one lamb (and one dog), then it\u2019s more than worthwhile. <\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Ask Adam: What topic would you like to know more about? <\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Email your suggestions to editor@countryfile.com <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Photo: Oliver Edwards, Jason Ingram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We must stop dogs attacking livestock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"14","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"14","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_14-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_14-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"August-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"August-2022","purple_external_id":"August-2022-14-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"August-2022-14-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000084059||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000084059||","purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.193","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.193","purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.193","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.193","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"91da22fd-9e7f-40d1-a93f-fc46e9516d91","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-08-04T10:53:11Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"eff541d5-618a-4b64-b1ad-222e0b3de795","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-08-04T10:53:11Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A7_VB1WGKS2SxrSIuCz3nlQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[19],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z.jpg",2048,1363,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z-1536x1022.jpg",1536,1022,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/07\/XQWY341DU49XO712KABD0NGOV29Z.jpg",2048,1363,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"We must stop dogs attacking livestock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17774"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17774"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18575,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17774\/revisions\/18575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}