FARMERS have been assured by police their livestock could soon have added protection against dog attacks.

The scourge of rural crime and attacks on livestock was addressed at a special event at Princetown where farmers spoke of their frustration at an increase in dog attack on livestock. They said it was difficult to stop because of ‘inadequate laws’ and few ways of proving the identity of culprit dogs and owners.

However, while acknowledging the current law 1953 Livestock Protection Act could not properly meet the expectations of farmers, farmers were told by police they do have a potential new weapon in their armoury – laws combatting anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Advances in the use and gathering of animal DNA – now being piloted by Devon & Cornwall Police and nine other forces – could help provide forensic evidence of dog attacks for prosecutions.

The conference, at Tor Royal Farm yesterday (Wednesday, January 29), was attended by a Dartmoor livestock protection officer, Devon & Cornwall Police rural affairs team, a Dartmoor National Park ranger and farmers, who discussed how difficult it was to prosecute the owners of dogs who attack their animals.

PC Julian Fry, of West Devon rural crime team, told the conference he was “very excited” about the potential for using ASB legislation. It would allow policing teams to draw up ‘bespoke’ sanctions called community protection orders. These would come into effect if it was shown that a persistent dog owner offender affected the quality of life of the community. It would be a more immediate tool than seeking a prosecution, as a community protection warning only needed ‘an indication of the impact on the community’.

DNA capture methods were improving and needed to be done so from an animal victim within 24 hours of an attack, then kept on ice before sending for analysis. The new capture methods being trialled include scissors, tape and swab. The aim is to prove the attack had been carried out by a dog. DNA was used to investigate a particularly horrific killing by a dog of about 20 sheep and others severely injured and put down at Lamerton in February last year.

Lessons learned during the animal DNA pilot could inform other crime investigations. Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society has been trialling DNA test kits.

The number of dog attacks on livestock incidents continued to rise last year with the worst affected area being the South West. This follows a dramatic increase in injuries and death of livestock valued at over £2.4m. The total cost to the South West was £5m last year, up from about £3m from 2023.

The 1953 act allows offending dogs and owner to be put under a dog control order which is specific to the dog and includes requiring the animal to be on a lead all the time, be muzzled and to stay on the owners’ land. But it does not cover llamas and alpacas and other more exotic animals or attacks outside fields. Police cannot demand DNA from owners.

Karla McKechnie, the Dartmoor livestock protection officer, has said: “The suffering to attacked sheep is immense. All means of identifying and controlling dogs must be explored.”