Mattie McGrath demands tougher action after sheep attacked by dogs
Mattie McGrath spoke about a recent rise in attacks on sheep by dogs and called for tangible action beyond a working group. He urged stringent controls on dogs, stronger penalties and faster enforcement as lambing season peaks.
Incidents reported
Recent months have seen what Mr McGrath described as appalling, savage attacks on innocent sheep, including damage to flocks and to individual animals. He highlighted the trauma to farming families and the burden placed on veterinarians called to treat injured lambs.
Calls for stronger controls and penalties
Mr McGrath said a working group is not enough and demanded tangible action - stricter controls on dogs that are off leash and severe punishment when offending animals are caught. He stressed that while most dog owners are responsible, those who let dogs run wild cause marauding attacks on sheep.
Government response and next steps
The minister acknowledged the issue and said the working group has completed its report. The minister said proposals will be brought to Cabinet and further legislation is planned to improve enforcement, introduce fines and strengthen oversight of dog control.
Timing and impact on lambing season
Speakers noted these incidents are occurring during the height of lambing season, a time when spring lambs are born outdoors. Mr McGrath warned that attacks at this time have heightened consequences for farmers, families and animal welfare.
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Teachuk, in recent months there have been some appalling attacks on innocent sheep, flocks of sheep, and heads of sheep. I know that the Department of Agriculture and World Affairs have set up a working group, but we need more than a working group. We need tangible action to ensure that these savage attacks and the dog owners who do not look after their dogs, most dog owners do, and leave them run wild and cause marauding attacks on the innocent little sheep. The damage it does to the whole flock, the injuries it causes, but also to the trauma for the families who own their sheep, and the veterinarian, people who have to come out to treat them, is very, very serious. So we need this working group to report. This is the lambing season now, the height of it. It was a wonderful, giant season to have spring lambs born outdoors, but to have these attacks, and there must be more stringent controls on dogs that are not muslims, and dogs that are off leash, and into these farms like this, and we must have severe punishment for these animals when they are caught. Minister, first one. Thank you, Mr McGrath, for the question. It is obviously a really important issue. There have been a number of really distressing incidents over the last two or three months in particular. It is an issue the Government takes very seriously. Both Minister Humphreys and myself are the two departments that have responsibility for overseeing the issue of dog control. We established a working group which has now completed its report. We will shortly be bringing proposals to Cabinet around that, and indeed further legislation as well, which will cover enforcement, will uncover fines, and will better bring together the oversight of the issue. We want to ensure that people that have dogs take full responsibility for their ownership, and that particularly in the case of farmers, or indeed people going about their normal life, that they are safe, and if somebody does not take the responsibility seriously, that there is really strong penalties in place for that. So it is something the Government will be expediting. Thank you, Minister. Independent group.
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