A new law which will help tackle livestock worrying by giving police more powers and extending the places and animals protected in law, is now one step closer to protecting thousands of animals according to the RSPCA.
Today (Wednesday, May 21), the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill passed committee stage in the House of Commons.
It is now one step closer to becoming a reality and having a real impact for thousands of animals and farmers in the UK, the animal welfare charity said.
The bill not only gives police more powers to act – it extends the scope of the legislation to better protect alpacas and llamas and adds roads and paths to the list of locations where an offence can take place.
The RSPCA says this will “make more animals safer, and in more places”.
Animal welfare
The RSPCA has long-called for improvements to legislation to protect farmed animals from dog attacks and hopes to see the bill complete its parliamentary journey.
Every year thousands of sheep are killed by dogs and the National Farmers Union (NFU) estimates that dog attacks cost the industry £1.8 million across the UK in 2022.
An increase in the average number of sheep attacks per farm and the value of insurance claims suggests incidents of livestock worrying continue to increase, according to the RSPCA.
It added that whilst the vast majority of dog owners take care around livestock, accidents can happen and even the most seemingly docile and obedient dogs can get distracted and excited by grazing animals nearby.
RSPCA farm animal welfare expert for cattle, sheep and goats, Holly Gower said: “Whilst you might think there is no harm done if your dog momentarily chases farmed animals and comes back quickly without injuring them, being chased by a dog causes the animal stress and anxiety.
“This can cause lots of problems for farmed animals – and even lead to pregnancy loss, which is particularly tragic.Â
“Severe attacks can have a devastating effect on farmed animals, resulting in injury and even death.Â
“This also has an adverse impact on the farmers themselves, both in terms of their livelihood and the emotional toll of seeing their animals suffer,” she added.
Livestock worrying
The RSPCA has said that it’s important to remember that livestock worrying is also a welfare concern for dogs too.
They could become injured during an incident and it is also lawful for farmers to shoot a dog to protect their farmed animals in some situations.
The charity added that there is a very simple way to stop any of this happening – for owners to keep their dogs on a lead around farmed animals.
Last year a law was proposed to increase police powers to protect farmed animals from being chased and attacked by dogs – but this did not have enough time to progress through parliament before the UK General Election.
The RSPCA has welcomed the move to put this back on the agenda – proposed by Conservative MP Aphra Brandreth as a Private Members’ Bill and supported by the current UK Government.
Public affairs manager at the RSPCA, Harriet Main added: “We are really pleased to see this bill pass this important stage and hope it progresses and become enshrined in law soon.Â
“This will give police increased powers to investigate suspected incidents and will make vital changes to what constitutes an offence.
“It will also extend the species covered to include alpacas and llamas and broaden the locations covered by the law to roads and paths – making more animals safer, and in more places.Â
“However, we’d like to see the bill go even further and expand its scope to include protection for animals such as farmed deer, enclosed gamebirds, ostrich and buffalo, to name a few.”
The charity is also calling for woodland grazing land covered by the Bill which would bring this piece of law in line with the measures within Scottish legislation.
The RSPCA would also like reassurances from the UK Government about how it proposes to protect the welfare of an increased number of dogs that could be seized as a result of this legislation.
