Sheep farmers hope the ‘pester power’ of 25,000 primary school pupils can help reduce dogs worrying sheep across the UK, by persuading adults to keep their dogs on the lead in rural areas.
Livestock worrying in Scotland hit a seven-year high in 2016, NFU Scotland revealed earlier this year, with particular concern centring on the spring lambing season.
Now as part of an ongoing initiative to raise awareness of the horror of sheep worrying by dogs, the National Sheep Association (NSA) has teamed up with Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) and the Farmers Guardian newspaper to take the message into classrooms.
As part of the Take the Lead campaign a package of educational materials has been prepared and will be introduced into 750 primary schools across the UK, involving more than 25,000 pupils aged five till 11. The tools focus on sheep farming in general, not just the problem of dog worrying, and can be used by teachers to increase understanding of the role of sheep in the countryside and the food chain. They can also be used by sheep farmers if they are invited into local schools to talk about the job they do on farm.
Phil Stocker, NSA Chief Executive, says: “We are thrilled with this opportunity to deliver a positive message about sheep farmers to young people including the importance of reducing the impact of dog attacks on farms. Pester power is an extremely valuable tool so the classroom is the ideal place to plant ideas around responsible dog ownership. Hopefully it will encourage children to relay the message about always keeping dogs on a lead around sheep to their parents and increase work to prevent this ongoing problem.”
Figures, obtained by NFU Scotland through a Freedom of Information, detailed that there had been 179 instances of livestock worrying in Scotland last year, where the animals have been hurt or killed, an increase of 46 incidents on 2015
Highlands and Islands and Lothians and Borders saw the highest number of livestock worrying incidents, 36 and 27 respectively, with Aberdeenshire and Moray in third with 22.
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