DOG owners have been warned to keep their pets under control while out walking after two were shot for maiming a sheep on farmland near Cowling Pinnacle.

“They were attacking and killing a sheep,” said Jason Perkins, a PCSO who works at Cross Hills Police Station.

PSCO Perkins said three men were walking two dogs on the moors above Cowling on Sunday, October 25, when the dogs attacked a ewe.

“There was a footpath through the farmer’s land, but the dogs were not on a lead,” said PSCO Perkins. “They attacked the sheep and the farmer dispatched the dogs as a last resort. The sheep ended up having to be put down.”

A member of the farmer’s family, who did not want to be named, said they were doing general day to day work when they noticed two dogs, which they described as ‘pit bulls’, pick up one of the sheep.

The family spokesman said the dogs shook the ewe, threw it up in the air, and ripped off its ears, mouth and rear end. The farmer then used a shotgun to shoot both dogs, believing they would have also attacked other sheep in the field.

Although the sheep did not die immediately, the family had it put down because of the seriousness of its injuries.

The family member said: “If they don’t put dogs on a lead, these are the consequences that could happen.”

“Farmers don’t want to be shooting people’s dogs,” said PCSO Perkins. “If you’re walking your dog and you go where livestock is, the dog should be under control. Dogs don’t just have to bite livestock, it’s an offence in itself if it chases them,” he said, adding that animals such as ewes in lamb could miscarry.

“The ultimate sanction to is shoot them, but if that is the only way to control the dogs then they have to be dealt with that way,” said PCSO Perkins.

“People hear about farmers shooting animals, but they don’t realise the possible consequences to the farming family.”

“The cost is obviously that we can’t replace that sheep,” said the family member, who explained the ewe that was attacked was valued at £150. “With vet’s fees to euthanise and dispose of the carcass, the total immediate costs were nearly £200.

“The ewe also potentially had another five years of breeding in her,” said the family member. “Some people don’t understand that 50 years of someone’s life has been spent building the business up.”

And although dogs attacking sheep have been known to occur during lambing season, the family spokesman explained: “It’s prevalent all year through now. Dog owners are taking less and less responsibility for their actions.”

PSCO Perkins explained that there have been other incidents of sheep being attacked by dogs in recent months, including one that happened near Baxter Wood at the back of Glusburn Park a few months ago.

He also talked about rules regarding rights to roam.

“Some people think they can go walking where they want, but you can’t just go walking through fields with livestock or crops.

“If there is a public footpath, then stay on it. Nobody wants a situation like this.”

The warning comes after Skipton farmer Keith Marshall was last month cleared by local magistrates of cruelty to a Doberman which he shot dead after he said he saw it attacking a lamb on his land.