Troubled farmers in the Hastings region have been given advice on how to mitigate vicious dog attacks on their stock.
Hastings District Council as well as the city's mayor met with nine local farmers today in the wake of recent roaming dog attacks .
Over the past month, 143 sheep have been killed in different locations in the region as well as 12 reports of "stock worrying" due to the attacks.
John Payne, regulatory solutions manager for the council gave farmers a number of tips today to mitigate the likelihood of further attacks.
Among them, he said farmers are within their rights to destroy a dog if they witness it attacking stock.
His advice, to purchase a firearm, a dog trap and to be extra vigilant on a full moon, when dogs are more likely to wander.
In terms of prevention, and in preparation for the next full moon, he said the council was taking a number of steps.
"We have increased both night and day patrols, and have widened the area where these patrols are happening.
"Unfortunately these dogs are a product of their environment – their owners are not looking after them properly."
In the Hastings district there were 13,500 registered dogs, but it was usually the ones the council did not know about that caused most of the issues, he added.
Mr Payne acknowledged the hard work and progress being made by animal control staff investigating the recent attacks.
"Our team has been making an extreme effort to locate the offending dogs – it’s a credit to them that that they have captured as many as they have.
Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the council was committed to helping the community find a solution, in an area where there was a lot of stock and a mix or rural and urban properties.
"We’ve seen some horrific cases of dog attacks and we are all coming together to say these dogs need to be found and the owners prosecuted.
"I will be working with our local MP to say we need to look at the legislation – it’s old and needs to be updated – and we are going to work hard to ensure all the district’s dogs are microchipped and that dog owners are held accountable for the damage that’s caused," she said.
Of the attacks to date, five dogs had been impounded at the council’s animal control centre, three summary prosecutions were pending, and two dogs had been returned to their owners who were fined, said Mr Payne.
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