The ongoing failure of dog owners to recognise the threat their pets pose to farm livestock is leading to continued devastating attacks on sheep, the National Sheep Association (NSA) has said.
At the start of the sheep farming charity’s annual sheep worrying by dogs awareness week, and hot on the heels of South East Farmer’s own special report in the April issue, the NSA shared the results from its annual survey on the scale and impact of the issue.
Its findings revealed that 87% of survey respondents had experienced a dog attack on their sheep flock in the past 12 months, with the cause usually the simple refusal of dog owners to keep their pets on a lead while walking in the countryside.
NSA project manager Nicola Noble said: “Dog owners often assume their beloved pet could not be capable of causing harm to other animals, yet it is an instinctive response of a dog to chase, and for some, attack prey animals such as sheep. Barking, chasing and physical attacks can all have devastating effects on sheep, especially at this time of the year when so many sheep in the fields are heavily pregnant or have young, vulnerable lambs at foot.”
The 2025 survey results included some sobering statistics that indicate that despite continued work by NSA and other farming and countryside organisations, owners are simply not heeding the importance of keeping dogs on leads near sheep.
Farming respondents to the survey on average reported four sheep deaths per year due to worrying by dogs, an increase from previous years and a figure that does not take into account additional losses from lamb deaths when miscarried by ewes due to stress from attacks.
As well as sheep deaths, extreme injuries will often cause long term pain and suffering for animals and financial loss to farmers through increased vet bills and fewer animals available to sell, the NSA pointed out.
Nicola added: “A high proportion (80%) of survey respondents also reported a negative experience when approaching dog owners to ask for their dog to be put on a lead, with just under half receiving verbal and, in some cases, even physical abuse.”
Dogs straying from their homes and gardens is also identified as a frequent cause of attacks on sheep. Over half the respondents also reported that attacks happened in private fields with no footpaths, which suggests straying dogs or a failure of dog owners to respect private farmland.
Almost half of this year’s survey respondents did not pursue compensation, reporting feelings of helplessness if and when cases were reported to the police, prompting Nicola to urge farmers to report all cases to the police to raise awareness of the scale of this issue.
She said: “It is a common misconception that nothing will be done if farmers report cases of sheep worrying to the police, but if they are not reported the true scale of this serious issue will never be fully appreciated and the work of NSA to push for stricter legislation and enforcement will not be realised.”
The charity has set up an online log for cases at www.sheepworrying.org.uk, a site which also includes further advice for sheep farmers who have experienced an attack.
The NFU Mutual also joined the campaign, urging dog owners visiting the countryside over the holiday period to keep their pets on the lead and pointing out that the late Easter meant most lambs would have been born.
Latest figures from the insurer estimate that across the country, farm animals worth almost £1.8 million were severely injured or killed in dog attacks in 2024, a fall of 26% compared to the previous year. In the South East, though, the figure showed a rise of 23% to £139,000
NFU Mutual also found that while 57% of owners let their dogs off the lead in the countryside, only 40% said their pet always came back when recalled.
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