The term 'sheep worrying' belittles what's happening say farmers - as tough new rules introduced
Today we're looking at the impact on animals after they've been chased or attacked
Last updated 23rd Mar 2026
A North Devon farm says it has to support traumatised sheep - as we look at the impact of dogs attacking farm animals.
New rules have now been introduced which ban so-called ' sheep worrying', with police now able to collect DNA evidence following incidents - and owners liable for an unlimited fine instead of up to £1,000.
Zoe Ford, the farm manager at the Big Sheep, told us about one ewe they're caring for at the moment, saying the ewe lost her lamb after an incident with a dog, adding: "Now we have all the after-care of that, she is in our ICU unit and we are treating her every day.
“Of course sheep grieve as well so treating her and making sure she's ok, she's lost a lamb that she's been carrying for the last four months. They do know."
She says recently sheep were attacked by a spaniel and whilst the owner was 'later very apologetic' it was too late. "Not to be mean but it is normally tourists," she said.
"They think back home we're allowed our dog off the lead in the park so here we can and they are not realising that around the corner is a field full of sheep.
"We've lost rams as well and the rams do tend to fight back against the dogs - so they do tend to end up worse off than all the rest of them. We lost a ram last year that was actually a very expensive ram, came from a show background and he’d jumped into a water trough to try and get away from the dog."
Ms Ford explained the impact on ewes when they lose offspring, saying: "The ewe will stand around the deceased lamb. She will cry out for it, she will nudge it and then when you take it away she will cry, and cry and cry.
“We've lost ones in the barn before and they will literally stand where the deceased lamb was almost waiting for it to reappear. It takes about four days for them to get over it and forget what's happened. But it doesn’t stop their body remembering and so they'll still be producing milk for that lamb and you have to give them a hay diet - so they can't have their normal diet that they'd be having - to try and stop them producing milk as their body knows that they've had a lamb. It's sad to watch."
Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Councillor Cheryl Cottle Hunkin, is a fifth generation sheep farmer in the Torrington area and has welcomed the legislation, calling it a “long overdue step.”
She outlined one recent incident in the area, saying: "We think the sheep were chased for several hours and they were by the River Torridge, they got chased into the water which was really high at the time and so lots of them drowned. Many were injured and died because of that, and several were wounded but still alive and the vets took three or four hours stitching them up - and they were all heavily pregnant as well."
She reflected: "The whole terminology of calling it livestock worrying really trivialises what it is because the animals being attacked are not just ‘worried’. Some of them are heavily pregnant and just about to have lambs and the impacts are really significant."
The updated law strengthens protections for livestock by giving police and courts greater powers to deal with incidents where dogs chase, attack or threaten farm animals.
Councillor Cottle Hunkin said: "It's really difficult to find dogs chasing as you are not there all the time and farmers are not there 24/7. You go around to do your daily checks but to actually find it happening at that time is really difficult. It's really important with this new law to have that ability to build that evidence - and it's unlimited fines which I think is really significant as well."
Councillor Cottle Hunkin reflected that ‘sheep worrying’ is an extra tick on the insurance and so farmers who lose livestock in that manner as not covered.
The latest figures from NFU Mutual have revealed that farm animals worth an estimated £1.95 million were severely injured or killed by dogs in 2025, up 10% from the previous year.
The NFU Mutual dog owner survey found that 57% of people let their dogs off lead in the countryside, with 1 in 10 admitting their dog has no recall, and 44% saying their dogs came back only ‘some’ or ‘most of the time’.
The National Farmers' Union has issued advice and a legal Q&A here, following the changes