Farmers - should they be allowed to kill your dog?

Was chatting to someone earlier - and the topic of farmers shooting dogs came up. She said that if a farmer shot her dog she would shoot the farmer because her dog is part of her family not some commodity (which livestock technically are to farmers).

How would you feel if a farmer shot your dog? Do you think they should be allowed to kill pets? Do you think strong tranquillisers would be better? Or dog owners having to foot the bill instead (perhaps in conjunction with compulsory chipping and insurance?). Or do you think it's the owners fault. Imagine how Fenton's owner would feel had his pet dog got shot in that famous youtube hit (had it been on/near a farm)... clearly not a bad dog owner, more unlucky than anything else.

Sorry,but that clip had me in stitches
Not a bit funny for the owner at the time I'm sure I have to watch that again

Fenton was not on a farmer's land attacking a farmer's flock of sheep, therefore what he did or did not do has nothing to do with whether a farmer has the right to protect his flock by shooting an attacking dog.

Fenton was out of control - no ifs buts or maybes. He was totally out of control and his owner was responsible for that fact.

Had Fenton attacked a flock of sheep on a farm then IMO the farmer would have had every right to shoot him.

Oh,and how do you know the dog is called Fenton

Because it is an infamous old clip and has even been on TV and many many forums. And I agree with Malka on this one if you allow your dog to be out of control around live stock sadly the farmer has the right to protect his flock.

Not a laughing matter, the story was reported in Newspapers & on TV news. The owner got away with his dog being totally out of control in a public place-not bad luck-lack of training & control of the dog by it's owner.

Yes farmers should be able to shoot at dogs who worried their livestock & it's not something most farmers want or like to do. You have to be licensed to use a dart gun separately from a shotgun licence & the drugs in the darts are almost as dangerous as ammunition, the strength of the drug can kill a human.

The owners that allow their dogs to worry, maul & kill livestock should be punished with a jail sentence.

No laughing matter for the sheep/cattle/dog & I'm surprised that people thought the video amusing

If my dog had got into a field of sheep and was worrying/harassing them, then I would hold my hand up and say "fair cop", that was MY fault and you are entitled to protect your livelihood.

A few weeks after we took Tai on, we were biking along the Brampton Valley Way with him. The fencing looked sufficient to us to prevent him being able to slip through into the sheep fields alongside the old railway track, but not so - to our horror, Tai got through and started to chase a flock of sheep. It was clear to us that he was just playing with them, he had no intention of hurting them, but had the farmer been around he would have been fully within his rights to have shot Tai. The sheep were not unduly worried by Tai's antics, and after a few minutes our frantic calling and whistling brought him back. We learned a very strong lesson that day- since then, I have NEVER trusted Tai around livestock.

Good post - I haven't seen the video, so I cannot comment - but I agree entirely with your sentiments.

Sorry I should have been clearer - I know that it was not on a farm, but it is typical of what some dog walks are like in the UK, countryside with right of way for the public (and their dogs) that backs on to or is near farmland.

Many of the public walks around here run by the Forestry Commission could lead you close to farm land - sometimes you turn a corner and will see sheep or other livestock.

I think the nub of the matter is that with dogs you have to be prepared for anything - you, as a responsible dog owner, take responsibility for training your dog to overcome his wolf instincts in return for a comfortable billet and good food. This is the "deal" that was struck tens of thousands of years ago between man and wolf. So, if you go round a corner of a field with your dog and are faced with a flock of sheep, then YOU - as pack leader - are responsible for preventing your dog from following his natural instincts.

Amusingly, we had just such an experience in the Forest of Dean in September. We had taken the boys round an 18 kilometre run round one of the brilliant bike trails. We were returning to the bike centre where my brother had hired a bike from when suddenly into the centre of the village hoved a flock of sheep! Both dogs at this stage were off their special harnesses that are fixed to OH's bike, and I thought to myself "here goes, this is a test of all those hours of training". All 3 of us pedalled as fast as we could, and the boys followed us bless them. This is though a perfect example of how you should always expect the unexpected - had Tai or Ben savaged a sheep, it would have been totally our fault.