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22
Feb 2023
Dog owners urged to keep dogs on leads after sheep attacks
Dog owners in the Harrogate district are being urged to keep their pets on leads by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust following two attacks on sheep at nature reserves last week.
The trust looks after more than 100 nature reserves across Yorkshire, including sites in Burton Leonard, Staveley, Bishop Monkton, Ripon and Upper Dunsforth, near Boroughbridge.
At a reserve in Huddersfield, an attack from a dog left one of the trust’s Hebridean grazing sheep with deep bite wounds.
Meanwhile, at Kilnsea Wetlands in East Yorkshire, pregnant ewes were chased by dogs, angering the local grazier.
As well as posing risks to livestock, dogs have also been trampling rare plants and bird nests.
The majority of ground-nesting birds are in decline in the UK, including curlews, woodcocks and skylarks. If dogs scare birds away from their nests, they leave chicks at risk.
A Skylark, one of the vulnerable ground-nesting birds.
Increasing instances of dogs disturbing wildlife has led the charity to issue the plea for owners to keep dogs on leads.
Rachael Bice, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s chief executive said:;
Jenna Kiddie, head of canine behaviour at the charity Dogs Trust, added:
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