Savage dog slaughters dozens of lambs on Ayr farm

May 7 2008 By Lisa Boyle, Ayrshire Post

A SAVAGE dog slaughtered dozens of lambs and left others bleeding to death as it went on a killing spree at an Ayrshire farm.

The white Alsatian ripped apart 37 lambs and four ewes during the carnage at Pleasantfield Farm near Doonfoot.

And a short time after the vicious attack the dog returned to the farm to kill even more animals.

Farmer James Andrew lost a total of 49 sheep before shooting dead the dog responsible for the brutal slaying of his sheep.

James described a scene of horror as he discovered the first lot of dead and dying lambs on Tuesday night

He said: “It was carnage. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

“I saw two injured lambs at the gate that were all torn so I went down to the field and realised what had happened.

“The dog must have been in the field for a good couple of hours, it was killing indiscriminately.

“Some were already dead and others had been thrown around and their spines were broken so they had to be put down. It was very distressing.”

The dog returned at some point on Thursday morning, maiming and killing another eight lambs before James could stop it.

He continued: “I had no option but shoot it.

“It’ll take me a whole year to recover from this. It’s cost about £3000.”

James is now desperately trying to track down the owner of the dog.

He said: “I’ve been told a dog like it was seen in the Ochiltree and Skares area about four weeks ago.

“It was wearing a heavy brown collar but there was no name or number on it. It was really dirty, I’d say it had been on the rake for a good couple of weeks.”

PC Ian Hilderley, from community safety, is warning dog owners to make sure their dogs don’t end up running wild on farms.

He said: “At this time of year, lambing season, we want to urge people to take more control of their dogs.

“Farmers are within their rights to take any action deemed necessary to protect their livestock.”

If you are the dog’s owner contact Ayr police office on 01292 664000.