A worrying time?

Spring is always an incredibly busy time for farmers as the shorter days of winter fade away. It's also, of course, lambing season, and with around one million ewes locally, it's the most important time of the year for many farmers.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Mar 2016, 09:16 BST
Updated 21st Mar 2016, 09:24 BST

To add to the seasonal busyness farmers also have to contend with the ever present problem of sheep worrying. Quantifying the scale of the problem is difficult, but according to surveys conducted by the National Sheep Association (NSA), over half of farmers have described sheep worrying as a persistent problem, with almost 80% reporting attacks.

Sadly, during lambing season sheep are particularly vulnerable as lambs and pregnant ewes can’t run fast. The impact is devastating. In one incident in Co Armagh in 2014, 40 sheep were lost and during a ten-day period last December 38 sheep were attacked in Derry & Strabane District Council.

As farmers know, however, the impact of sheep worrying isn’t limited to physical injuries. Stressed ewes are highly susceptible to miscarriage and mis-mothering, and attacks can cause damage to fencing as panicked sheep try to escape. In a fifth of cases reported to the NSA the financial cost was put at £1,000 – one incident was reported with a £17,000 loss.

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It isn’t possible to accurately measure the emotional pain which sheep worrying causes, nor the extra time, effort and care required to look after affected livestock. It is possible though to plan ahead and at least mitigate the financial losses which sheep worrying causes.

At Autoline we work with the UK’s top insurers to offer farmers flexible, tailored policies designed to meet the needs of individual farm business. Sheep worrying is an optional peril available for livestock owners, covering incidents where sheep are killed/injured and die shortly afterwards after an attack by someone else’s dog. If the dog’s owner is known, financial losses can be sought from them, if not, worrying insurance cover will apply.

Sheep worrying is one of the most distressing incidents farmers deal with, but at least, with the right cover, the problem won’t be compounded by unanticipated financial loss. If you wish to discuss worrying or any other aspect of your farm insurance covers then contact your local Autoline office.

Richard Henderson,

Head of Agriculture Insurance at Autoline Insurance Group (www.autoline.co.uk)

Related topics:SheepSpringStrabane District CouncilDerry