Dog walker warning: Large number of livestock incidents on the Island

Officers from the Country Watch team are warning dog walkers to keep pets on leads in rural areas or potentially face prosecution.

This follows a number of incidents on the Isle of Wight, where owners have been walking with dogs off their lead or not under close control. Their pets have then chased, and in some cases, fatally attacking sheep.

During an incident in August it’s reported that a dog chased a number of sheep on St. John’s Road in Ventnor; before the owner got the dog under control and left the scene.

In another incident, a dog entered a field in the Godshill area and chased sheep; resulting in the death of two of them. The owner of the dog agreed to pay compensation to the victim as a result of their losses.

A number of sheep were either killed and injured during others incidents in Ninham in March and Whitwell in April earlier this year.

As a result, members of the Country Watch team will be increasing their proactive patrols of hot-spot areas across the Island to tackle the ongoing issues.

Police Staff Investigator Andrew Williams, from the Country Watch team, said: “The majority of dog owners are responsible, but unfortunately there are a small minority whose recklessness puts the welfare of other animals at risk.

Read the full article here > IslandDog Magazine Issue 02. Page 6