farmshooter Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 he;llo all, i live on a farm and we farm cows, we have several footpaths accross are land but people do tend to walk where they please unless i give them a ####ing lol and normaly dogs of the leads running around everywhere, just wondering on the legality on me shooting a persons dog if it was attacking our livestock? can anyone help on the law, i have a fac and sgc with pest control thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) You can shoot a dog, if it is worrying your livestock. Clearly you can't just shoot it if there's an owner 20 yards next to it, trying to get it under control, but if one has escaped and is tearing round the fields causing livestock distress and there is nothing else you can do then you can shoot the dog. Legally you must inform the police within 24 (might be 48) hours if you have shot a dog. Edited February 14, 2011 by Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 if its in the process of attacking with no owner there then you could shoot it with shotgun, with those conditions its not a rifle job. However dogs rarely harm cattle and its usually the other way round so if its people with dogs off the lead that you've got the hump with then shooting one will result in loss of SGC FAC and a court appearance I would imagine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semiautolee Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 i would be putting signs up saying, dogs will be shot if they are harming livestock, keep them on a lead! to many of the public get away with it, dogs harming livestock, people getting trampled by cattle because of there own fault being in fields that they shouldnt be. i know what i would be doing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 you could shoot it with shotgun, Sounds a bit counter productive - Shooting a dog that's scaring a cow with a very noisy weapon! I would have thought "Other wildlife" might cover it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) thats usually in the expanding ammo conditions though not the rifle conditions you'd need shooting for the protection of livestock ETC however arguing a dog was harming cows might be hard, sheep is one thing but cows usually kill the dogs there is also the other issue that usual advice is to let the dog go if you get harassed by cows when walking. if the farmer then shoots the dog its not going to go down very well Edited February 14, 2011 by al4x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 An absolute no no. Sheep different story but even then it must be a LAST resort. You would be in deep doo doo if you shoot a dog that was just off a public right of way and your defence was it was bothering my Cows.Goodbye licences hello fine and criminal record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Stick warning signs up first to atleast educate the dumb public. In a neighbouring village there is a large field which has a public right of way and has a lovley tarmaced path to encourage people not to stray.At both ends where the kissing gates are there are two signs the size of a pallet which says "Cattle-dogs on lead or they will be shot". You need to frighten them and make them big! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1957 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 This is a useful read: http://www.wrighthassall.co.uk/resources/articles/art_frbu_animal_law.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmshooter Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 obviously i wouldnt shoot it if the owner was 20 meters away, and also i dont meen frightning cows i mean attacking them, and yer genrelly only a dog that could do damage e.g. rotwierler, alsation (i cant spell lol) also we farm quite a large area so the dogs that are near our cows are normaly way of the pubic right of way, and tarmacing a foot path through a field that we have 2 plough isnt going to work lol. but theres the otha thing that if our cow killed a human who was in the field trying to rescue a dog, the cow would be shot, and wed be in trouble for having a dangerous animal (laws in this country are stupid) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 only a dog that could do damage e.g. rotwierler, alsation (i cant spell lol) Careful. You might upset some people on here. Any dog can be dangerous. It's down to their upbringing how aggressive they turn out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 no dog really is likely to start on a cow, those breeds are just large breeds and not particularly an issue with livestock. Obviously calves etc there may be an issue and if you caught one in the act then despatching it is fine. Then report it and when the owner goes to the police you have their details so you can go after damages for the loss of the animal. how many attacks have you had so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MK38 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 obviously i wouldnt shoot it if the owner was 20 meters away, and also i dont meen frightning cows i mean attacking them, and yer genrelly only a dog that could do damage e.g. rotwierler, alsation (i cant spell lol) also we farm quite a large area so the dogs that are near our cows are normaly way of the pubic right of way, and tarmacing a foot path through a field that we have 2 plough isnt going to work lol. but theres the otha thing that if our cow killed a human who was in the field trying to rescue a dog, the cow would be shot, and wed be in trouble for having a dangerous animal (laws in this country are stupid) I don't know the law on it, but i do know very few dogs would do damage to a cow let alone a heard of them..... the dog would come off worse, unless they were a pack. I don't let my dogs off near any livestock, they don't mix well as a rule. I own both a Rottweiler and a German shepard... allthough powerfull, they are no more agressive than any other dog.... Post signs up stating the animals may charge and that dogs worrying livestock will be shot ... that should stop alot of people walking where they shouldn't .... and at least you've given fair warning. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Joe Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 You need to frighten them and make them big! Put a Bull in the fie;d with a sign saying " If You cannot cross this field in 9.9 seconds, don't bother, the Bull can do it in 10 secs " That should do it Popcorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 it is however worth checking with the NFU etc about posting signs saying you'll shoot peoples dogs as lots of people will get the hump over it, usually these things are best kept quiet and done strictly legally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 We had an issue with a locals terrier getting out of it's garden and into our fields, caught the little sod one day tearing at the yows which were all in lamb.. We ended up losing two healthy yows due to injuries. Managed to catch the dog and returned it to the owner with a strongly worded (ok our lass swore a lot) rant and told the gormless owner we would send him an invoice for the value of the stock as see him in court for any lost lambs...Plus we'd not hesitate to shoot it should it happen again Needless to say the dogs been well controlled ever since...best thing you can do as others have said is signage to scare the living wits out of people not keeping their dogs under control?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) Also shooting the dog is only realistic if it's caught red handed, you have your gun to hand and you also won't further damage your own stock Edited February 14, 2011 by ben0850 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC45 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 did you get paid for the Lambs?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmshooter Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 i didnt mean to upset people with those dogs, i was just saying that a jack russle isnt going to have a chance but one of those dogs is powerful enough to do some damage, 2 cases of single dogs in the field, one was an old lady and the dog had run of and ended up in the field she was 10 mins behind it, i fired shot gun over its head then chased it with the quad till out of the field, the other the owner was trying to get t out the field i chased it again and it went back towards owner, basicly i would shoot one rather than risk lossing livestock even if i did lose my licence for a few years, when cows are worth between 600 and 25000 quid im not letting a dog near them lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 i didnt mean to upset people with those dogs, i was just saying that a jack russle isnt going to have a chance but one of those dogs is powerful enough to do some damage, 2 cases of single dogs in the field, one was an old lady and the dog had run of and ended up in the field she was 10 mins behind it, i fired shot gun over its head then chased it with the quad till out of the field, the other the owner was trying to get t out the field i chased it again and it went back towards owner, basicly i would shoot one rather than risk lossing livestock even if i did lose my licence for a few years, when cows are worth between 600 and 25000 quid im not letting a dog near them lol Shooting over a dogs head to scare it away isnt going to do you license any good. How do you know that dog was going to attack your livestock. I cant see an old lady keeping a dangerous dog either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Any dog can be dangerous with livestock, even fluffy the poodle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) Not sure of the legalities of this,but if theres a legal public right of way through the field-is is possible to build a stile which allows humans to climb over,but would be very hard for owners to get dogs through? Please correct me someone if im wrong,i know you're not allowed to hinder access to humans,but i wouldnt imagine domestic pets were never included? Edited February 14, 2011 by Imperfection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 i didnt mean to upset people with those dogs, i was just saying that a jack russle isnt going to have a chance but one of those dogs is powerful enough to do some damage, 2 cases of single dogs in the field, one was an old lady and the dog had run of and ended up in the field she was 10 mins behind it, i fired shot gun over its head then chased it with the quad till out of the field, the other the owner was trying to get t out the field i chased it again and it went back towards owner, basicly i would shoot one rather than risk lossing livestock even if i did lose my licence for a few years, when cows are worth between 600 and 25000 quid im not letting a dog near them lol what happens is the owner says you shot near them and the license is gone for good sand you spend the next year with a court case over your head, Its a difficult game generally cows run at dogs and the dog clears off even big dogs cows will kill them. If you are chasing it on a quad then odds are a shot near your livestock will do more damage than the dog would. sheep are another matter but cows do tend to look after themselves, as you'll see by the number of people killed by them while protecting their dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmshooter Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Not sure of the legalities of this,but if theres a legal public right of way through the field-is is possible to build a stile which allows humans to climb over,but would be very hard for owners to get dogs through? Please correct me someone if im wrong,i know you're not allowed to hinder access to humans,but i wouldnt imagine domestic pets were ever included? we do this, people just cut the wire, then the cows get out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 did you get paid for the Lambs?? If only!! Not possible to prove which lambs were lost as a consequence of the dog worrying the sheep or which were for other reasons... We live in a very rural area and thankfully have great community spirit so the dog owner got short shrift and a bit of the cold shoulder for sometime after Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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