An XL bully type dog has viciously mauled lambs in a horrific attack in the Yorkshire Dales after it ran away from its owner.
Payton Eastham, 26, was fined £120 when she and her co-accused Ryan Iveson, 32, went camping in Worton Bottoms on the day of the attack on May 31.
Yesterday at York Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was ordered to pay a £380 compensation fee in addition to the fine.
An earlier hearing revealed that two canines - a Staffy XL bully cross and a Rottweiler Husky cross - were neither put on a lead nor muzzled.
After running away from their owners, the dogs crossed a river to reach the field with the sheep, which they began to chase and injure.
Although she had initially denied the charge, Eastham - from Breconbar, Bainbridge - pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog worrying livestock.
Eastham’s co-defendant Iveson, from Northallerton, pleaded guilty to the same offence at his October hearing.
He was subsequently faced with a £200 fine.
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The dogs crossed a river to reach the field with the sheep, which they began to chase and injure (Stock)
PA
The offence of livestock worrying is included under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act, which applies to cases where a dog injures or chases an animal and causes suffering.
Farmers are permitted to kill the dog if it is posing a threat to their livestock.
Data from NFU Mutual have shown that dogs have injured or killed around £2.4million worth of farm animals over the course of 2023.
This figure has increased by 30 per cent in 2022.
In 2023, the south west of England was the worst-affected region in the country as dogs are estimated to have injured or killed around £359,000 worth of livestock.
NFU Mutual also found from a different survey that more people had started to allow their dogs to run off-lead in the countryside, while under half of respondents admitted that their dog does not always return to them when they are called.
Dogs have injured or killed around £2.4million worth of farm animals over the course of 2023, according to NFU Mutual estimates (Stock)
PA
NFU Mutual Rural Affairs Specialist Hannah Binns said: “We’ve heard reports from farmers about dog owners who regularly allow their pets to roam off-lead in the countryside, seemingly unaware of the carnage the dog could cause, who are then horrified when an attack happens.
“Complacency kills, though, and there have been incidences where dogs have chased, injured and killed sheep and the owner is powerless to stop it or nowhere to be seen.
“Farmers are living in fear of repeat attacks, which cause horrific and needless suffering to livestock and can traumatise all involved dealing with the aftermath.
“If there is an attack, it is important people accept responsibility and report it, to a local farmer and the police, so that the injured animals are not left suffering in pain.”
