Escaped collies from kennels shot by farmer

[JoanBias]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221414/Farmer-shoots-collies-dead-escape-boarding-kennels-owners-holiday.html

Agree, Grimma. Most farmers don't just shoot pet dogs on sight, it's a last resort to protect their livestock. I doubt any farmer gleefully kills anyone's pets. Two dogs were shot near me a few months ago for worrying some rare cattle. The owners caused uproar in the local press etc. It turned out that the farmer had caught these dogs twice before in the field, and both times returned them to their owners with strong words. The third time, they were worrying pregnant cows. I don't blame him in the slightest.

Any 'overhaul' which made the law any less clear would inevitably result in more dead/maimed/aborting livestock and more dead dogs.

The only change I can think of would be to make it illegal to have dogs offlead in or adjacent to fields containing livestock, though I can't see that being enforceable. And anyway, would a fine be a deterrent if risk of death to your dog isn't?

If the RSPCA were informed would they not have to consider the Sherpa well being too, under their own legislation?

I simply can't believe the dog owners appear to be putting the blame entirely on the farmer and not the kennels.

If anything-shouldn´t kennels be more regulated-if they even are?

Ie minimum fence height etc.

Or I guess dogs aren´t important enough?

Honey - I don't think their remit covers ill-treatment of mountain guides ... DYAC ... but I'd have thought that yes, the welfare of the sheep is also a consideration. I would hope the RSPCA is talking to the kennels owner not just the farmer.

Nowhere does it say that!

The farmer shot the dogs as they were crossing the Brook, I'd guess there is a fair chance they would have ended up in the water.

He then told the kennels owner that the dogs were next to the Brook.

My interpretation is that he shot dogs, pulled out of Brook and left them there for retrieval by kennels.

It just said that's where they were, not how they got there.

bloody autocorrect!

my olld offices were on farm land with game too. Farmer was our landlord and had to shoot a couples young lurcher that got in with the cattle. I believe he shot because the husband had gone in after the bloody dog too!

I found this out as I had commented on a gorgeous black Labx I used to see being walked near us. Turns out the game keeper had had pups and the farmer asked for one to give to the couple.

This was well over 15 years ago. I don't if it's because I'm from a rural area but the general consensus was thank god the farmer was there with his gun or god knows what would've happened.

The majority of farmers I know (and that's a LOT, considering I am married to one) WILL shoot a dog that is running loose in their flocks. IF they recognise the dog (because farm dogs are buggers for buggering off), they will often try and catch it first, but if they can't get hold of it, then often, they will shoot it. Farmers around here have shot each others dogs because they've escaped and gone into a field of sheep and my husband has shot several dogs in the past for worrying sheep. This is a man who loves dogs and is happy to work with and rehabilitate rescue collies...

Sheep (and other livestock) are an economic commodity for a farmer. Their welfare is paramount to a farmer, because they represent money. They will take steps to protect their livelyhood, and they have every right to do that.

The kennels in this instance are entirely at fault. 4ft fences are not high enough to provide a secure and safe enclosure for most determined dogs, and especially a breed such as the border collie. Mine will happily clear a 4ft fence without effort and without even thinking about it. According to the report, the kennel owner and staff were already well aware that the two dogs could clear the four foot fences in the exercise area and had informed the dogs owners of this fact.

Whether the dogs owner gave permission for the dogs to still be exercised off lead in the paddock or not is irrelevant. The kennel owner and staff were very aware that there was a chance the dogs would escape. The dogs were not in a secure environment and the kennels made the decision to release them to run free in that insecure area. For the dogs own security they should have been kept on lead at all times. They could have easily have been exercised on a very long training line so they could have a decent run around whilst the handler was still in control and possession of the dog at all times. Its common sense. A secure exercise area should have fences of at least 6 foot.

The dogs would not have died by being exercised on a lead for a few weeks. They DID die, because the kennels failed to look after them properly.

I bet the kennels get a higher fence now. Its a shame its taken two dogs to die for them to do it (if they do).

I wasn't allowed to home a rescue dog unless I had secure fencing and was told my dog needed 6ft fence.

I wasn't allowed to home a rescue dog unless I had secure fencing and was told my dog needed 6ft fence.

Crazy isn't it? A rescue would expect your home to have a higher standard of security than a professional establishment deemed necessary. That kennels needs a serious policy and fencing overhaul.

i think if you know your dog can jump like that, you don't let it off in an adjacent field. the kennels can't have been watching.

my dog can't jump like that any more, so is fine next to standard sheep fence.

if i had a real escapologist, i'd ask for them to be lead walked only until my return. although i do believe it is best for a dog to have an off-lead walk, you have to be cautious about where.

my dog did need a 6ft fence - not stupid for a rescue to specify for most dogs - not only because in her prime she could jump a shorter fence, but because if she can see things over it, she would bark at them.

average price of a sheep/ lamb is about £100.. 2 dogs can easily kill/injure a dozen or so animals in a short space of time.

That's a lot of money for a farmer to lose.

The kennels are entirely at fault.

Blame the kennels here. Just to add re fencing- I've watched dogs, even a cocker, sail over a 6ft scale jump.

Agree that too many dog owners seem to think they have such good recall they don't need a lead around livestock!

My cocker/springer could clear 6 feet if he wanted to. We stick to walking through the woods and avoid bridle paths.

I'm getting a springer soon. Do I need higher fence/wall? I have a 6ft fence on one side and a very slightly lower wall on the other. We live by a road.

Depends on the springer. My friend has two which happily stay behind a 5 bar gate. But they could easily jump the gate if they wanted to, and do jump fences that height when we're out walking. But at home they're happy to stay in the garden.

We have a dachshund...we worry about him getting under fences.

A JRT can probably do either.

Our dog has never jumped our 6ft fences, but he could should he choose to. I've seen him jump and get his face up over the fence to bog at a builder before (they feed him sandwiches ).

My JRT X got under our very experienced foster co ordinator's fence, while she was caring for him. The poor woman was past herself. She is used to large breed sighthounds so never considered that him digging his way out was a possibility.

My other small sighthound x followed him but was found and handed into the local vet who automatically contacted her because she was the local sighthound expert and might know where this one had come from. She then spent the day searching frantically for the terrier cross so she didn't have to ruin our holiday by telling us she had lost our dog, only to be informed that night by us that he was at the same vets as the first dog, after they'd used his microchip to contact us.

When she'd asked if they had a Fox Terrier X as well as the whippet X the woman on the phone said no but neglected to mention that they did have a JRT X