Surrey Farmer: "I've already had 4 dog attacks this week alone"
Luke Smith who farms in Dorking, has told us he welcomes new harsher punishments on livestock attacks, but more needs to be done
A Surrey farmer has welcomed new rules introducing stronger punishment for livestock attacks, however says more work needs to be done.
New rules introduced this week mean dog owners who are responsible for livestock attacks, are subject to unlimited fines.
Furthermore police now have the power to remove dogs if they believe the animal could attack livestock again.
Luke Smith, who runs a livestock farm near Dorking, told us he has already seen 4 dog related incidents this week (period from March 16th - March 18th)
He told us just how serious the issue is
"I had 60 plus dog attacks last year. And you know, the reality of the situation is when you speak to the owners ait's always 'Oh, my dog never meant it. My dog was only playing. I didn't think my dog would do it.' The list of stuff goes on."
It's because of reasons like this he thinks the new rules are only part of the solution, he told us the most important part is getting the message out there
"I think it all comes down to advertisement and people getting the word out there. I think these new rules are great, but if some of them are implemented and anything actually happens and someone does something or the police take action and use these new rules, I think we should be advertising that, we should have good publicity over that. We should be supporting the police and we should be showing what would happen.
Luke also emphasised the point that he believes the blame always lies with the owners rather than the animal themselves
"We need deterrents to stop these people doing it in the first place. It's not necessarily the dogs that are at fault. It's always the owners in my view, you know, because any dog can be trained and guided in the right direction with the right leadership and the correct owner."
Luke emphasised that the vast majority of dog walkers are great, it's just the small minority who are the problem
"As always, with all of these things, you've got a minority ruining it for the rest. And that's where we are here.
You've got a percentage of people who cannot control their dogs, who are ruining it for the highest percentage of people who actually know how to control their dogs, their dogs will come back.
"We've all got these signs on our gates, including me. 'Please keep your dogs on the lead around livestock.'
And at the end of the day, that's all it takes. Keep your dog on a lead, keep it in close control, job done. You know, it should be as straightforward as that. We shouldn't need these new rules because in reality people should have their animals or their dogs on a lead close to livestock."