AN Ivybridge farmer is telling people to ‘start taking responsibility for their dogs’ after a sheep was attacked on private farmland north of the town.

Rachel Bailey took to social media to share graphic photos of the injured animal, after it was savaged by a dog in its field adjacent to Stowford Woods.

Rachel said that they had already been forced to move sheep away from fields near Filham Park due to ‘continuous attacks’. The field where the latest outrage took place, last Wednesday, was surrounded by private land with no public footpaths nearby.

The police are investigating, but said that unless the owner of the offending dog gives themselves up, they are unlikely to be caught.

Rachel said: ‘We have had two cases recently of dogs chasing our sheep, the owners were walking the woods, oblivious to what their dogs were doing. But as we’d had no serious incidents we didn’t take any action.

‘As a direct result of today the woodlands are being closed off.

‘It is private land which people have been responsibly using for years, but we cannot have this. Our sheep are not safe anywhere.

‘It makes us feel like selling our whole flock. If you’ve been responsibly enjoying the access to these woods we are sorry.

‘As ever, it just takes a few to ruin it for everyone.’

Rachel said that an appeal following a previous attack had resulted in the owner coming forward, compensation being paid and no action taken against the dog.

She added: ‘If your dog returns with blood around its mouth, please consider an animal could be suffering.

‘Keep your dog within your sight, it could be chasing livestock and get shot.’

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police by calling 101, quoting crime reference number CR/084824/15.