UK ministers 'missing a trick' by failing to follow Scotland's example on livestock worrying
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A national sheep-farming group has accused ministers responsible for legislation in England and Wales of "missing a trick" by failing to follow Scotland's lead in dealing with livestock-worrying cases.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) says it welcomes any strengthening of legislation on worrying by dogs. But it believes that boosting police powers to seize dogs south of the border should have been backed up by a significant increase in maximum fines.
Chief executive Phil Stocker outlined the NSA's concerns following the announcement that stricter measures to crack down on livestock worrying were to be introduced in England and Wales through the Kept Animals Bill, introduced to the UK parliament last week.
“This was an opportunity to create a major deterrent to this anti-social behaviour by substantially increasing the maximum applicable fine alongside more proactive measures to prevent attacks occurring," Mr Stocker said.
"Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] and ministers responsible for English legislation are missing a trick in not taking the opportunity to increase fines in line with what the Scottish Parliament has done.”
The provisions of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021, which received royal assent last month, include imprisonment for up to 12 months, a fine of up to £40,000, or possibly both.
A person who commits a similar offence south of the border under the new proposed Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is liable to a summary conviction and a fine not exceeding level three on the standard scale – currently £1000.
Mr Stocker said: “There are significant and very welcome improvements contained in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to support the police and rural crime teams after an offence has occurred, but very little to reduce the number of incidents that are increasing year-on-year. In fact, the lack of clarity in defining 'under close control' puts farmers and dog owners in a difficult, potentially conflicting position.”
NSA says that with increased dog ownership, and more people using farmland for leisure, there has been a significant rise in the number of incidents.
"These incidents all point to an urgent need for simple, straightforward and effective measures to radically reduce the number of cases," the association says.
