The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) are calling for immediate and coordinated all-island measures to address the “growing crisis” of uncontrolled dogs across the country.
The farming organisations believe the current fragmented approach to dog ownership regulation is failing farmers, particularly in border areas where enforcement is vulnerable.
In a joint statement, they said: “Too often we hear from farmers in these areas whose sheep have been mauled or killed by roaming dogs, and there is no system in place to hold anyone accountable.
“Dogs from either side of the border cannot be identified or tracked, as there is no joined-up, all-island system to trace these dogs.”
To address the problem, both the IFA and UFU are calling for coordination and cooperation between authorities, with a database that fully integrates licensing and microchipping information.
The groups believe that this system must be accessible to enforcement bodies on both sides of the border to ensure that no dog or owner can go unidentified.
Dog control
Both groups also claim that there must be full enforcement of existing microchipping and licensing obligations for all dog owners, alongside stronger and clearer enforcement powers for dog wardens, An Garda Síochána, and the PSNI.
According to the organisations, penalties for failing to comply must be increased, including substantial on-the-spot fines for unlicensed or uncontrolled dogs right across the island.
In addition to dog control, the IFA and UFU warned of the increasing risk of diseases within the sheep and livestock sector on the island.
They said: “Animal diseases such as Bluetongue pose a serious threat to the sheep sector. The financial cost these can have on farms is enormous. An outbreak in one part of the island is a threat to the sheep sector on the island.
“Beyond the farm gate, the knock-on effects a large outbreak would have throughout the agri-food supply chain disrupting local economies and risking export markets could be substantial.”
They have called for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to cooperate to implement preventative measures, disease surveillance, emergency response, and information sharing.
The groups said that farmers on both sides of the border are “vulnerable” without a coordinated strategy.
