What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the effectiveness of current guidance to dog owners about preventing their dogs attacking sheep?
Animal welfare and the responsible ownership of animals are priorities for the Welsh Government and the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group. We take the issue of dog attacks on livestock very seriously. The costs, financially and emotionally, for those who own or find dead and injured livestock are wholly unacceptable, as are the animal welfare implications. The Countryside Code, published by Natural Resources Wales, provides clear guidance on the responsibility of dog owners to keep their dogs under effective control. Dogs should be kept on a lead or in sight at all times and owners should be confident their dogs will return on command.
We are working with the UK Government on introducing further safeguards through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. The Bill proposes to repeal and replace the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 with a new set of provisions to address the issue of dogs attacking or worrying livestock. It aims to broaden the definition of livestock which are afforded protection and the areas in which the powers apply. As currently drafted, it also incorporates a range of ancillary orders that the Courts may make to provide effective tools to address reoffending in the most serious cases of livestock worrying.