Rudi Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/disp...e=sidebarsearch I feel so sorry for this dog and his owner, it's a living nightmare and I wouldn't wish this on anyone BUT the owner had had a warning and the dog doesn't appear to have been under control - the owner was having to run after it. It's lambing/calving time - why let the dog off the lead? Is the farmer in the wrong, the dog owner or both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boosboss Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 As the article say's 'A farmer may shoot the dog if it is worrying or about to worry livestock' and the owner of the dog claims neither. So in this case I'd say the farmer was wrong. But, with the article being one sided, it's not that easy to decide. Tragic all the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trallwm farm Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 As the article say's 'A farmer may shoot the dog if it is worrying or about to worry livestock' and the owner of the dog claims neither. So in this case I'd say the farmer was wrong. But, with the article being one sided, it's not that easy to decide. Tragic all the same The dog was IN the field with the cattle.If ANY strange dog goes in it stresses them,therefore that IS worrying livestock. If the owner of the dog actually gave a toss then he wouldnt have blatantly allowed the dog off the lead and in. Lets hope he cant afford to buy another one to so blantantly allow to run through livestock.The dog could very likely had a terrible death anyway if the cattle turned on him. Blame the dog owner fair and square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSDFan Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 (edited) It's always hard to know the truth from a newspaper article. If the owner had previously been warned then I think the farmer was well within his rights. Even if the owner hadn't previously warned he was being extremely careless. Dogs should be on lead anywhere that they can possibly get into a field with livestock. Every year there are cases of dogs being killed or wounded because they were not controlled by their owners. I feel very sorry for the dogs, I don't have much sympathy for the owners. Edited April 14, 2007 by GSDFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona711 Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Poor dog Sadly if the owner had observed the country code and had the dog on lead this would not have happened , it is spring and cows and sheep can miscarry when under stress so farmers have the right to shoot dogs when they are on their land Maybe the farmer did shoot prematurely but the owner had been warned before , the farmer is under no obligation to warn a dog owner about the next time , they are legally with in their rights to shoot any dog on their land , no matter how we may personally feel about it . A friend of mine had one of his dogs shot in the face and she lost an eye , luckily she lived , but he even admitted that she should never have got out and into the field in lambing season Fiona xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Canis-Equus~ Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 The article is unclear as to where the dog owner was....... If the dog owner was in the field as well, the farmer may be in the wrong regarding safe use of his firearm. Hes not in the wrong for shooting the dog though, a dog doesnt have to be actually chasing livestock to be worrying them, and a farmer has the right to shoot dogs that are trespassing in amongst his livestock. He was lucky i think to have been warned in the first place! Ive been in his shoes, i once allowed Rocky to worry livestock and BOY did he worry them - it was an accident of course, a field over the brow of a hill that used to be fenced in was now open - i couldnt see it, couldnt see livestock, allowed dog off lead. My fault entirely, dog found livestock, chased it, farmer came out WITH gun and threatened if i didnt get the dog immediately, hed shoot it. Fortunately he realised i wasnt very old, and HE yelled at rocky who stopped (i had been yelling and yelling..... no luck at all, Rocky was having WAY too much fun seperating out a ewe and chasing her down). He COULD have shot Rocky, hed have been legally within his rights to do so. I have NEVER let rocky off in a place i have reason to believe there may be livestock ever again. One warning is all i needed! its all anyone needs and one warning more than many would get! Poor dog to have such a stupid owner though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingrid Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 He ran through the hedge and through two fields before he got to the one with the cattle in. He had run into the field but was not worrying the cattle at all in my view. I could not believe it. I was only a short distance away Do they have very small fields in Leicestershire or is the owner a very fast runner to keep up with a husky that has crossed 2 fields ? He says he was walking along the towpath so was he on a public footpath when chasing the dog ? Unless it#s changed recently I beleive the law states that you cannot have a loaded gun on a public footpath or shoot across one, if there wasn't a footpath then the farmer is completely within his rightd. Having lived in the country all my life and helped a local farmer clear up after a dog got in with his sheep during lambing I have absolutely no sympathy for the owner, his absolute stupidity and carelessness has cost a young dog it's life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 If the article is correct and the dog was in the farmer's field then the farmer is well within his rights to shoot it. It's not the farmer's fault, it's the owner's, especially since he has apparently been given a warning before. Poor dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 Symapthies with the poor dog that lost his life through having a careless owner. No sympathy for the owner at all, dogs should be kept on lead around livestock particularly at this time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 I feel so sorry for the poor dog who lost his life for merely doing what was natural to him. From the information provided I believe that the farmer possibly shot unneccessarily in this instance and can't condone it. I certainly think further investigation is warranted to prevent the same happening again. The fault however is I'm afraid entirely the owners. He knew he didn't have control over his dog yet continually chose to let him off lead anyway. He had been warned of the possible consequence but presumably decided the farmer wouldn't see it through. A lead, a training class and some commoin sense may all have avoided this tragedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 The original rules The most widely accepted version of The Country Code was published in 1981 by The Countryside Commission: * Enjoy the countryside and respect its life and work * Guard against all risk of fire * Fasten all gates * Keep your dogs under close control * Keep to public paths across farmland * Use gates and stiles to cross fences, hedges and walls * Leave livestock, crops and machinery alone * Take your litter home * Help to keep all water clean * Protect wildlife, plants and trees * Take special care on country roads * Make no unnecessary noise Dogs must be under close control, a dog running free in a field is not under close control. Again a dog looses his life because he has an idiot for an owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 I may be a bit paranoid, but I think there's more to this story than the owner's letting on. He obviously had a very serious telling the first time he let his dog run out of control on his land, so, given 1. that his dog is known for doing this, 2. he was walking past this specific farmer's land and 3. his other dog was not allowed offlead for whatever reason, WHY did he then let his dog off right there? It seems deliberate to me, not to have him killed but to maybe p*ss the farmer off, or as a "He's not telling me what to do with MY dog", or worse, to deliberately scare his animals to get him back. Like I said, I may be paranoid, but it just seems so off to me. The farmer was in the right in my view. Poor, poor dog having such a t*t of an owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted April 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 When I first read the story I also thought the owner was stupid and felt some sympathy for the farmer - I'm glad I'm not alone, thought maybe I was a monster or something ;) The majority of people I know with huskies don't tend to let them off lead, for the very reason that they do run and run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 I have a friend who's dog slipped her collar and ran off amongst sheep, the farmer shot her. My friend doesn't blame the farmer but blames herself because she didn't have enough control over her dog. If she had had the collar tighter or had her harness on, she wouldn't have got away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 I have one dog who would chase sheep etc and another who would try to be friends with them. Whenever we're away on hols and don't know the area, they're both keep onlead. It used to be hard walking the 'chaser' through a field of livestock even onlead, but with training he has come on a long way - not enough to ever be trusted though. If I knew there was livestock in the vicinity, and my dog had a habit of running a couple of fields off, then no way would he be offead. I think this poor dog was let down by his owner, especially if he had already been warned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts