Laois gardai issue warning to dog owners

Laois Offaly Gardai are reminding dog owners to keep control of their dogs.

They have teamed up with the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association to remind people of the harm which dogs can do on farms.  

The issue of dogs attacking flocks of sheep was raised at the November meeting of Laois Joint Policing Committee as there had been a sheep kill in the county in recent weeks. The meeting was told of the harm caused not only to the injured sheep but to the flock as a whole who can lose lambs and become very stressed in the aftermath of an attack. 

“We continue to see issues with sheep kills when dogs attack livestock. Dogs should not be allowed roam. We regularly see community groups alerting each other about dogs missing or roaming. Would there be any link?” Gardai asked in a recent social media post. 

Gardai urged people to “please keep your family pet under effectual control.”