Dog attacks on livestock cost the UK farming industry an estimated £1.4million last year, according to NFU Mutual.
Figures from the rural insurer reveal the number of attacks reported rose by nearly 50% across the UK last year to a record high.
The costs more than trebled in Scotland to £51,296, from £13,746 previously, while the average cost of a claim on a UK-wide basis increased by nearly £500 to just over £1,300.
NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist, Tim Price, said the increase in the cost of claims may be due to an increase in the numbers of some pedigree and rare sheep.
He said: “The number of incidents reported to us is a small fraction of the total. Often, farmers don’t report livestock worrying because their sheep have simply disappeared, or they can’t prove the animals’ deaths or injuries were caused by dogs.”
The rural insurer is now calling on farmers and crofters to do more to prevent dog attacks – a plea backed by Ewen Campbell from Fort William.
Mr Campbell, who runs a small beef and sheep farm on the foothills of Ben Nevis, had one sheep killed and two injured by a husky last year.
He said the full extent of the attack won’t be known until the rest of the ewes are scanned later this month.
“Owners need to make sure they are always in control of their dog and very careful about where they let them off the lead – there may be a flock of sheep around the corner that they don’t know about,” said Mr Campbell.
NFU Mutual has advised farmers and crofters to take steps to reduce the risk of attacks.
These include: checking stock regularly; putting up signs warning dog owners to keep their pets under control; and maintaining fences, walls and hedges to make it more difficult for dogs to get into grazing fields.
Producers are also urged to report any attacks to the police immediately and to ask neighbours to alert them if they see loose dogs near their livestock.
