FOLLOWING incidents of livestock being disturbed by pets on the Malvern Hills, the land’s trust have urged dog walkers to be considerate of sheep and other animals.
The Malvern Hills Trust has sheep grazing on many of its land holdings to help maintain the habitats and vegetation along the hills and commons and is aware of four incidents just this year of sheep being chased or ‘harassed’ by dogs in the area.
On January 7, a sheep was chased from North Hill to End Hill. On January 8, a sheep was chased from Jubliee Hill onto East Pinnacle. On January 16, a dog was reportedly ‘harassing’ a sheep on North Hill. And, sheep were chased from North Hill to Happy Valley on January 19.
To help the trust protect its livestock, it asks dog walkers to keep pets on short leads and under close control as well as keeping a safe distance from sheep to ensure your presence is not a stress to them.
Sheep can die from repeated exposure to stressful events and the trust want to prevent this wherever possible.
A spokesperson for Malvern Hills Trust said: “It is important to remember that our landscape is shared, not only with each other, but flora and fauna too. Coexistence is paramount to ensuring long term management of our wonderful landscape.
“Our graziers work hard throughout the year, making sure the flock are kept healthy and are grazing the vegetation in the way they should, and moving them to new compartments when necessary.
“Please get in touch with us to report any incidents concerning livestock, and we can send one of our wardens to investigate.”
Dog attacks can be reported via 01684 892002 or to police on 101.
