Arundel & South Downs MP Andrew Griffith joined local farmers in Arundel on Friday (18th June) highlighting the need for dog walkers to keep their dogs on a lead when near farm animals.
Andrew joined Caroline Harriott, who farms at Findon, and NFU County Chairman Mark Chandler, who farms at Petworth, with representatives of the National Farmers Union (NFU), the South Downs National Park Authority, and Sussex Police.
Their unified message to dog owners is;
• Keep your dog on the lead around wildlife and livestock.
• Always bag and bin your dog’s poo.
• Stick to the path and keep your dog close, particularly during ground-nesting bird season (1 March – 15 September)
• Stay out of MoD danger areas when the red flag is flying.
Caroline Harriott, former Chair of the NFU, has been a long-time campaigner for #TaketheLead. As a sheep farmer she has witnessed an increase in dog attacks on her flocks. She has lost more than 100 sheep over 10 years from livestock worrying and attacks from dogs not on leads.
Andrew said:
“As a dog owner myself, living in such beautiful countryside, I know how inviting it is to let the dogs run off the lead. The #TaketheLead campaign delivers a clear and simple message and asks owners to be responsible and only let their dogs off the lead when there is no danger to livestock or ground-nesting birds.
“I will also be calling on Parliament for the creation of a national dog DNA database, which will help prevent the growing crime of dog theft but also have the side effect of making it easier to trace the owners of dogs who have attacked livestock.”
Update: You can watch piece with my comments on Take The Lead on ITV's website using the following link from 13:40 minutes: https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2021-04-19/catch-up-itv-news-meridian…;
