17 lambs mauled to death during suspected dog attack at Fife farm

Farmer Stuart McDougall says his family have been left "heartbroken" by the incident.

By James Simpson

April 4 2023, 2:55pm

Stuart McDougall with the lambs that died after the suspected dog attack. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

A Fife farmer has been left “devastated” after 17 of his lambs died following a suspected dog attack.

Stuart McDougall returned to his farm in Kelty on Monday to find six of the days-old animals dead.

A further 11 have had to be put down by a vet due to the injuries they sustained.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident, believed to have happened between 10.30am and 1.30pm.

‘It broke my daughters’ hearts’

Stuart, 43, of Mill House Farm, says the pure Scottish black-faced lambs – which were born at the end of last week – were “hunted down”.

The dad-of-two said: “I’ve grazed this land for 15 years but this is the most horrendous incident we’ve had here.

“It was a frenzied attack.”

Stuart says the scene “broke the hearts” of his daughters, Ailsa, 10, and Iona, eight.

He continued: “It’s devastating that this has happened and we’ve sadly lost another lamb earlier today.

Ailsa and Iona with one of the surviving lambs. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

“I fear there will be more lambs that die as a result of what happened – they were hunted down.

“The extent of these injuries was catastrophic. When the vet arrived they believed this was the work of a large, able dog.”

Stuart shared a photo of the dead lambs online as he urged dog walkers to take more responsibility and keep their pets on a lead.

He said: “There was an incident here over eight years ago with another dog attack but nothing on the scale of Monday’s incident.

Some of the lambs died at the scene and others were put down. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

Stuart estimates he has lost thousands of pounds in future sales. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

“In that case the dog owner paid compensation for the loss of life.

“I would estimate there has been a loss of £7,000 to £8,000 in relation to future pedigree sales.

“Realistically there is nothing I can do to stop this sort of attack happening again, except for having people standing every 10 yards keeping an eye out.

“The fields on the estate are linked to Blairadam Wood and the forestry commission are looking to put further signage up.

Dog owner ‘hightailed it out of here’

“They’re also looking at any CCTV at their disposal and police have also started their investigation.”

Stuart says many of his ewes have become stressed in the wake of the attack.

He added: “I was dreading going back out this morning.

“Last night, when I went out, my own dog nearly sent the field into meltdown, given what happened.

Stuart with Heather, daughters Ailsa and Iona and some of their sheep. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

“It’s hard to say at this stage if it was more than one dog involved.

“What is certain is the owner of this dog or dogs caught them and hightailed it out of here.”

Inspector Stephen Gray urged dog walkers to keep their animals under control near livestock as they appealed to the public for information.

‘Your dog and your responsibility’

He said: “Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident and we are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.

“The lambing season has started and worrying can cause stress to sheep that can result in them losing their lambs, as well as injuries that can lead to their death.

“All of this is at considerable cost to farmers.

“Dog owners could face prosecution if their dog attacks livestock so we are urging them to keep dogs on a lead when walking near livestock as well as making sure they do not run or escape into fields on their own.

“I am asking all dog owners to be considerate. Please remember that it is your dog and your responsibility to keep them under control.”

Anyone with any information, is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101.