The Chair of North Tipp IFA is critical of the lack of enforcement of laws on unlicensed dogs, in light of ongoing problems with sheep kills.
Ballywilliam farmer, Imelda Walsh, says farmers are continuing to see a significant amount of attacks despite a high profile campaign last year which blocked land access to walkers.
She describes the amount of prosecutions relating to dog attacks as “insignificant”, and wants to see more action taken.
“The facts stand up for themselves, like we’ve 800,000 dogs in the country and we’ve only a quarter of those dogs licenced.
“Bear in mind, you’ve three million sheep in the country and as farmers, we’re obliged to have all of our sheep tagged and traceable, so it’s totally unacceptable that we have 600,000 dogs running around the country, owned by individuals, and families that are not chipped and have no ownership attached to them.”
