Farmers speak out over sheep massacre

Farmers Richard Grover and his son David. They lost sheep after they were killed by a dog

When David Grover went to inspect his father’s flock last Thursday, he came across a massacre.

Dead and wounded sheep, some of them lambs, were blooded in the field, others were lifeless or drowning in a nearby stream and the River Ouse.

“There was a lot of blood,” said David.

“A lamb’s neck was twisted and it couldn’t stand and I had to shoot it. I felt sickened.”

Richard Grover, who owns the mixed flock of Suffolks, Jacobs and Textals at Freshfield Mill Farm, Scaynes Hill was in Ipswich on the day of the attack and rushed home after being contacted by his son, David, on a mobile phone from the field.

Police officers were called to the farm and they seized two Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs pending further investigations.

David said: “We recovered eight live sheep from the river and a dead ewe and there were four of five drowned sheep in the stream. I saw the two dogs in the next field looking exhausted.”

Richard added: “There are at least ten lambs without their mums and I’m expecting more to die of shock. It was very upsetting because I had lambed them all and got them through the winter. I had kept a ewe with a twisted foot for about eight years and she died.

“I’ve got ewes bursting with milk because their lambs have died and they’re in danger of getting mastitis.

“We’ve had to inject all the lambs with penicillin to stop infection from the dog bites.”

Richard and David needed extra help to recover the sheep from the water - an operation that took about 35 hours. Richard said: “It could end up costing us £5,000 plus.”

He revealed that two Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs savaged his flock about three and a half years ago. “We lost five sheep in that attack and we had to shoot one,” he said. “I saw the dogs in the field.”

A police spokesperson said: “This was a very distressing incident for all involved and serves as a timely reminder to dog owners to keep their pets on a lead and under control at all times, but especially when they’re near livestock.

“Owners also need to ensure any areas where their animals have access are secure at all times.”

The National Farmers Union is reminding dog owners that farmers are within their legal rights to shoot dogs who are seen savaging sheep.

It is not clear at this stage whether the dogs responsible for last Thursday’s attack will be put down.