Sheep kill prompts call for dog owners to be more responsible

BYâ€Ë†JACQUELINEâ€Ë†HOGGE DOG owners are being urged to keep their animals locked up following an attack on sheep in Gallagh, on the outskirts of Tuam. The incident happened last month on land owned by Pat Joyce, who lost 13 animals following an attack by dogs in the area.[private] Nine ewes were killed in the incident while a further four died following the attack, which Pat says is down to people not knowing where their pets are at all times. 'This is the first time anything like this has happened out here since the 1970s and it's simply a case of people being irresponsible when it comes to keeping their dogs in,' said Pat. 'Small terriers may seem incapable of such a thing but when they get together in a pack with other dogs their temperament changes and they can be as savage as any dog. For them it's a game and they run the sheep, wearing them down until they can't run any more and then the dogs just tear them asunder. 'Then there are other animals whose hearts can't cope with the stress of being chased and they die from the shock of it all.' The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon, with Pat discovering the dead animals the following day. 'I have a flock of 80 which I check regularly and they were fine and all accounted for on the Sunday, but by Monday I discovered four of them dead in one batch, with the other five a short distance away,' he said. 'The other animals died in the days following the attack but at a total loss of €2,500 for all of them, it's money I can ill afford to lose. 'You can't insure against these kinds of attacks so I'm just asking those who have pet dogs to be more responsible about their whereabouts, and not go away leaving them to roam the countryside, where they can cause awful damage. 'I have two working sheepdogs myself and I always make sure they are securely kept in if I'm heading out, all it takes is a half an hour for this kind of thing to happen.' [/private]