We havnt been told anything else - so i suspect there was more to it - either the dogs were really going at it, or they were had run up ahead and the owners didnt see what they were doing Will update if i find out anymore

A farmer can legally shoot any dog in the field around livestock. Someone I know had a friend who had 5 - 7 Afghans shot in a field with sheep, they had got out and into the field. A dog should always be kept on a lead if there is the chance you will encounter livestock. Also it is an offence to allow your dog to chase specially protected birds, between 1st March and 31st July dogs MUST be kept on a lead in areas of 'access land'. My dog is not allowed off the lead anywhere outside of the garden, I live in a rural area, prior to that I lived near London and the local bylaws were 'when in a public place dogs must be on a lead and under control'.

www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk
www.english-nature.org.uk

Forgot to put these on should give info about dogs and the countryside.

That's awful your friends must be so upset.

I think the others are right and the full story hasn't quite come out.

Lets face it, if the dogs had good enough recall so that they could have been called back rather than being shot, they wouldn't have been in the position to be shot because they would have been under control by the owner (unless the owners were completely stupid and were letting the dogs run around in the sheep field).

If the dogs had no recall, the farmer had no choice. Either way, though I am very sorry for the tragic loss, I'm afraid I blame the owners, not the farmer.

Unfortunately,if a dog chases cattle or isnt restrained by lead-the farmer has every right to shoot it.

Theres a particular field in a nearby village where there are always sheep/cows grazing,but has a public right of way along a tarmac footpath.There are signs up everywhere warning that dogs not on lead will be shot and still people choose to ignore.I know of many dogs which have been killed there and callous as it sound-i agree with it.

Just because there is a public right of way-it dont mean the entire field is public property and shouldnt be treated as such.Some people should think first before letting their dogs off lead.

I agree that it's very, very sad for the dog, but maybe the owners have learned a very harsh lesson here !

A sad and harsh lesson indeed - when you buy a dog, not only are you responsible for it, you're responsible TO it, and that responsibility has to involve not letting it get anywhere where it can be shot.

If my Kali goes wandering out-of-bounds and gets himself potted, then that is MY fault, for letting him get out. Back in 1999, a visitor left our gate open, and Kali took himself for an unauthorized walkie. By luck, rather than good judgment, he stuck to the roads, and avoided any encounters with guns. He got a severe tongue-lashing, which seems to have had the desired effect, in that he has never gone a-roving since. His only other unauthorized exit from the garden was when he jumped the wall to see his friend Kelly, who happened to be in season at the time. He got off with that one, as he was only doing what Nature told him to!

Snorri
(nudge nudge )

I too alway thought they were required to fire a warning shot first.