Panshanger Park’s famer, Geoff Wiltshire was called just after 11am yesterday morning (Thursday 14th September) to reports that an Alsatian had attacked one of the 150 sheep grazing in the field between the car park and the Keeper’s Cottage.
On arrival he found the badly mauled sheep lying down on its own, 200m from the rest of the flock near the cattle grid.
The injured sheep was taken to the Royal Veterinary College Farm Animal Clinical Centre for emergency treatment to multiple wounds which included having to have her tail amputated because it was so badly damaged.
“We have a nervous few weeks ahead to see how the ewe will recover from this traumatic experience.” Farmer Geoff Wiltshire explains. “We are taking her back to the vets for further treatment this week. We are also helping police with their investigation. Sadly, this incident could have been avoided had the owner taken notice of signs around the park which warn of sheep grazing, and kept their dog on a lead.”
Owners of Panshanger Park, Tarmac, are committed to keeping grazing animals as safe as possible during their time in the park. In the last 12 months, sheep at Panshanger Park have been attacked on more than one occasion by out of control dogs. One such incident exactly a year ago resulted in a police caution for the dog’s owner as well as a £500 fine.
Michael Charlton, Tarmac’s Restoration Manager at Panshanger, said: “We are urging dog owners to take notice of the signs we put up around the park to avoid any more unnecessary attacks. We want everybody to be able to enjoy Panshanger Park but there will be consequences for those that endanger the safety of our animals”.
For more information about walking dogs in Panshanger Park head to http://www.tarmac.com/panshanger-park/dogwalking/
