Farmer threatens to shoot dogs on her land

A young female farmer, whose sheep were savaged by dogs in the Ballinagh area at the weekend, has warned the dog owners responsible that she will shoot their dogs on sight if they threaten her flock again.

Devastated Daphne Scott from Caughoo lost eight sheep, all of which were in lamb, and estimates her financial loss as a result of the attack at up to €3,000 when the value of the stock, veterinary bills and disposal costs are factored in.
Gardaí are investigating the incident, which took place at Loughnaconnick on Saturday afternoon between 1:30 and 3:30pm. “When you are only starting off as a young farmer, this in an awful loss,” said Daphne, who only got involved in sheep farming two years ago.
Daphne, who also runs the business Precious Pets, has approximately 100 sheep and there were 40 in the batch that were mauled by the dogs.
It is believed that a pack of large dogs were responsible for the blood-thirsty attack on the defenceless animals. They cut their throats and pulled them by the tails around the field, while others were chased into a drain and drowned.
One of the dogs involved returned the following morning and ravaged another sheep, which later had to be put down. That particular dog is described as a Husky/Labrador cross, bright fawn/white in colour.
The remaining sheep in Daphne’s flock are frightened but recovering. They are currently housed in a shed and she is concerned that some of them could yet abort lambs.
Daphne Scott says that the dogs responsible for the attack would still be covered in blood when they returned home. “You can’t have dogs wandering around loose and especially those large Husky-type dogs. There is no reason why people can’t keep their dog at home now with those electric collars,” she said.
The young woman told The Anglo-Celt that she has a licensed shotgun, and while being an animal lover, now after this horrific loss, Daphne says she will shoot any dogs she sees chasing her sheep on her lands.
“Those sheep were worth €200 each and one of them was a pure-bred Hampshire Down sheep and she was worth approximately €400 to €500,” she said.
“I still have five worried sheep in ICU. One of those sheep is still not able to stand up. I am keeping an eye on them, they could well have dead lambs,” added Daphne of the ordeal.
The loss of one of the animals in particular has hit her hard. “We have a mobile farm here and there was one black sheep that was killed, and she used to come with me to places like Dublin and Cork – she would follow me anywhere,” said an emotional Daphne.
Anybody with any information in relation to the attack is asked to contact Cavan Garda Station in confidence.