Urgent appeal for action to tackle 'sheep worrying' in south Mayo

A Mayo Oireachtas member has raised fresh concerns over sheep worrying on the plains of south Mayo.

Deputy Paul Lawless elaborated: "Some of the best sheep farmers are in south Mayo and in parts of north Mayo.

"They are being terrorised by groups of individuals coming onto their lands and sheep worrying.

"I attended a meeting recently where I spoke to a young farmer who lost half his pedigree stock overnight.

"Several were savaged by dogs and others were caught in ditches, drains and rivers on the farm.

"I am particularly keen to ensure we have a system whereby the microchipping of all of these dogs and enforcement happens.

"In Mayo, there are only three dog wardens. It is an enormous county.

"There are very many occasions at weekends and evenings when no dog warden is on duty.

"Then gardaí are called but are simply not equipped to deal with it.

"Gardaí do not even have scanners to scan these dogs. This is how poorly equipped we are in the country to deal with this."

Deputy Lawless said the new Dog Welfare Amendment Bill (2025), which is currently going through the Oireachtas, will assist with this.

But there are still significant steps needed to take on sheep worrying, microchipping and ensuring gardaí have the ability to protect farmers, he added.