The number of dead sheep as a result of a dog attack in northest Wales last night (Sunday, November 20) is expected to at least triple, according to a police officer at the scene.
Iwan Jones from the rural crime team for the North Wales Police posted a video from the location of the attack, a field in Buckley, Flintshire, to describe the “scene of absolute devastation”.
Seven sheep have been confirmed dead, however “from looking at (the surviving sheep), I expect the number of dead to at least triple”, he said.
“So, we’ve got about a 100 sheep in this field behind us there and so far, from a livestock attack from a dog, or dogs – possibly dogs – sometime during the night, there’s seven dead at the moment and there must be 25-30 injured.”
“We get quite hardened to this type of thing here on the rural crime team but, today, it has left us feeling a bit sick really, awful,” he added.
Jones described the scene as an “absolute mess”, adding that “the farmer is absolutely devastated and the sheep are suffering”.
In the 2022 Sheep Worrying Survey by the National Sheep Association (NSA), a registered charity in Wales, farmers reported feelings of anger, anxiety, upset, stress and frustration as a result of sheep worrying by dogs, attacks with most recognising this was adversely affecting their mental health.
The rural crime team urged anybody that may have any information on the attack to come forward.
“If you’re the dog owner, you know what’s happened, because the fields are wet and the dogs will be filthy and covered in blood,” Jones said.
“Absolutely sickening, I have no other words for it,” he added.
