Livestock worrying, particularly incidents involving sheep, continues to be a blight on Scottish farming writes Linlithgow farmer Jamie Smart, chair of NFU Scotland’s Legal and Technical committee.

NFU Mutual estimates that the cost to the livestock sector in 2017 amounted to £1.6 million but not all cases will be insured, and the issue remains chronically under-reported.  As a result, the true cost to the industry of dog attacks is likely to be significantly higher than this figure.

NFUS has been supporting members at both a local and national level. Work carried out by our Regional Mangers and local secretaries has included providing signage, working on individual cases with Police Scotland and local authorities (access officers and dog wardens), while supporting awareness campaigns being run by National and Regional Parks.

Underpinning local work, NFUS has worked nationally in partnership with the Scottish National Heritage, Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and other stakeholders.

But despite the work already carried out, it persists, and the following must be tackled in 2018 if we are to make a difference.

• Tackle the continued under reporting of attacks by farmers and the public
• Address the fact that the sanctions levied on offenders can be less than the true cost to the farmer and, in many cases, the responsible person is unable to pay compensation orders
• Some local police remain less than receptive to this issue as a ‘crime’
• Difficulties in identifying individuals or dogs responsible, particularly where issues occur in remote areas
• Prevent attacks caused by ‘latchkey dogs’ who live locally, or dogs who stray from gardens regularly