news, local-news, farm safe week, dog attacks, livestock, yass valley council

Eight dog attacks on livestock have been reported to Yass Valley Council in just the past 17 days, adding to the 63 reported between July 1, 2017-18. These figures - which could be even larger with many attacks left unreported - serve as a strong reminder during National Farm Safety Week that the responsibility of health and safety on our local farms is shared with the community. Dog attacks on livestock have a devastating impact on farmers emotionally and financially with costs to vets or to put the injured animal down and put the farmer at risk when protecting their livestock. Yass Tribune has reported several dog attacks on livestock in the past few years. These included a White Rock resident who lost almost a third of his sheep to attacks by two bull mastiffs in 2015; another by two dogs on three of the Burmester family's sheep, resulting in two fatalities and one seriously injured; and one more in October 2016, when a sheep in Gunning was attacked also by two dogs. These are common stories among the local community. The council said dog attacks were particularly an issue in Yass Valley because of the closeness of farmland to residential properties and that winter was an even more pertinent time, with owners generally exercising their pets less, causing dogs to become bored and restless, looking for something to do. 165 nuisance or wandering dogs were reported to the council in 2017/18. Devastating impacts on farmers and dog owners A council spokesperson told the Tribune, "Dog attacks on livestock cost the livestock owners a lot of money, often resulting in livestock deaths and are extremely distressing to all involved. What this means to the offending dog owners is that if your dog enters farmland and approaches any animal farmed on that property and the farmer believes they might attack they can be shot and killed." The penalties of a dog attack on livestock aren't only high for farmers either, with dog owners liable for fines of up to $500 if their dog is found attacking a local person or animal. "People in the community need to tell council early if there is a habitual escapee in their street,” the spokesperson added. “We would much rather come out and discuss dog containment with a proactive owner than to be dealing with the aftermath of an attack." Advice for dog owners Fiona McPhail, associate vet and vet manager at Yass Valley Veterinary - who has an interest in dog behaviour - offered her advice to dog owners when near livestock:

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