Farmers are criticising the Welsh government's inaction as the cost of attacks on livestock show that the situation in Wales has gone from bad to worse.
A review of the ban on electric shock collar training for dogs in Wales has been ruled out. This is despite new data showing that farmers in the region
Welsh government will not review its ban on e-collar training for dogs despite the fact that Welsh farmers are four times more likely to see dog attacks.
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Traumatised farmers are calling for tougher police action and more government funding to publicise the Countryside Code.
The Guardian revealed last year that successive governments spent less than £2,000 a year over the past decade on promoting the code.
Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, said there was “undoubtedly” a rise in attacks on sheep because of lockdown.
“We’ve definitely observed an increase in incidents of dogs attacking sheep,” he said. “Everything we’re seeing and hearing is suggesting that there are more incidents and more serious incidents as well.
“It’s a result of lockdown and people using areas of the countryside that they wouldn’t have done previously. So many people are discovering farmed countryside for the first time and they are not aware of how they should be behaving.”