Online poll: Dog owners, are you looking out for livestock?

The Orcadian is homing in on the issue of livestock worrying, this week, as we launch this online readers’ poll asking dog owners about their habits.

Across the UK, last year, the estimated cost of livestock worrying soared by nearly 30 per cent to £2.4 million. 

This is according to NFU Mutual, whose survey of 1,100 British dog owners found an increasing number of people were letting their dogs off leads in the countryside (68 per cent). Just less than half said their pet always comes back when called.

This week, the Orkney branch chairman of NFU Scotland (NFUS), told the newspaper he is keen to see the results of our upcoming local poll, as livestock worrying remains a perennial concern for farmers here. 

See next week’s edition of The Orcadian for the results of this anonymous poll, and views on what they mean for the welfare of Orkney’s livestock.

The poll will close at 10am on Monday, May 27.