Dog walkers have been reminded to clean up after their pets when walking on or near to agricultural land.
Farmers union NFU Scotland has warned failure to pick up dog faeces could lead to abortions in cows and death in sheep.
This is due to parasites found in dog faeces, which lead to two diseases in livestock – neosporosis and sarcocystosis.
Neosporosis is thought to be responsible for the highest percentage of all cattle abortions reported in the UK.
Cattle become infected with the disease when they eat grass or drink water contaminated with neospora eggs, which are produced by infected dogs and excreted in their faeces.
Sarcocystosis is also caused by parasites, which can use dogs as intermediate hosts, and the eggs are produced and excreted in faeces.
There are currently no licensed vaccines or drugs available to treat either of the diseases.
NFU Scotland’s animal health and welfare policy manager, Penny Johnston, said: “This is becoming an increasing problem for many farmers, especially when located on urban fringes and is an important issue for dog owners to be aware of, both for the health of their own pet but also the livestock grazing on that land.”
She criticised recent comments by BBC Radio 2 presenter Simon Mayo about “flicking poo into a nearby field as a boy” and said dog faeces posed a serious threat to livestock.
“Regardless of where you are, you should pick up after your dog, and not just flick it into a nearby field,” added Ms Johnston.
