A farmer has spoken of her devastation after 10 of her lambs were found savaged to death by dogs. Anthea Davies from Vale of Glamorgan made the grisly discovery on Monday morning and posted a photo on social media to warn locals of the dangers of letting dogs off their leashes near livestock.
The animals, which were about a month old, were being kept in a field not far from the farmyard at the time of the attack. "Everything was fine on Sunday evening (April 10) but Monday morning was a bit of a shocker," said Anthea.
"They were all dead in different parts of the field - two had been eaten and you could see the grass around them was covered in blood. The rest just had bite marks, some of which had punctured their stomachs."
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Anthea added that her family has a farming business and their livestock normally graze the commons around villages such as St Brides, Ogmore and Southerndown. "But on this occasion they were being kept in a nearby field while our ewes undergo treatment for bad feet and recover from previous injuries - some the result of car accidents and other dog bites.
"Only the lambs were mauled though. It's just hugely upsetting when something like this happens - also completely avoidable."
And it's just the latest in a series of similar incidents. Recent weeks have seen three pregnant ewes - some of which were expecting twins - chased by dogs around a nature reserve on the Gwent Levels until they died from stress and shock. You can read about that here.
A further pregnant ewe at the same beauty spot - a Site of Special Scientific Interest called Great Traston Meadows - also sustained serious injuries. It prompted leading conservation charity Gwent Wildlife Trust to stress that dog owners keep a closer eye on their pets whilst out and about.
