A FLORENCECOURT farmer has warned the public to be vigilant after a dog attacked his pedigree sheep on Tuesday morning, leaving one dead and a further four badly injured.


Lee York, along with his wife, Jenny, keep a small pedigree flock of Hampshire Downs which have been shown in Balmoral previously.
He expects the cost of the attack on his flock to amount to at least £1,000.


“My wife went out to feed the sheep yesterday morning at around 7.30am,” Lee explained, “She chased the dog away when she saw what was happening. There was some kind of collar on the dog, and it must have been tied up, because there was a broken piece of rope around it’s neck. One ram lamb was killed and another four were badly injured, with flesh torn from them.”


The dog is described as being similar to a labradoodle, and is quite large.
“My wife took the sheep to the vets and they were stitched up,” said Lee, “We just keep the sheep as a hobby. But we want others to know to keep a look out because it is coming up to lambing season now.
“Because we keep a pedigree breed, we are insured for this, but other farmers might not be.


“And it is not just the cost -- it si the trauma and suffering the sheep had to endure as well.
“It was purely by chance that my wife went out yesterday morning -- she normally feeds them in the evening. So if she hadn’t gone down we could have been looking at a field full of dead sheep.”