ATTACKS on four sheep left bleeding to death from their slashed throats in one week in the same spot on Dartmoor have been condemned as ‘horrific’ by the devastated owner.

Farmer Ann Cole believes the attacks on four of her ewes on common land on the moor near Tavistock last week to be the work of a large dog, who may strike again.

Ann, who has farmed sheep on Dartmoor all her life, said: ‘We have had sheep attacks before, my husband and I, but nothing as horrific and cruel as this. They have gone for the jugular. These sheep are heavily in lamb. That is three lives gone from one sheep in lamb who is expecting twins.

She is appealing for information on the attacks which all happened on Roborough Down, in an area around Long Ash Garden Centre and Down Lane.

Signs have been put up close to the Long Ash car park, appealing for anyone with information to contact Dartmoor livestock protection officer Karla McKechnie by phone.

Karla is on permanent standby to go out to incidents with injured animals on the moor. She believes these latest attacks near Long Ash are all the work of the same animal.

‘It is all in the same area and it is the same injuries,’ she said. ‘They have all been savaged around the throat, resulting in them dying. These are really serious, horrific attacks.

‘It is a criminal offence for dogs to attack livestock and with lambs arriving in April, this is really worrying.

‘These four sheep being killed comes after two sheep belonging to the same farmer were killed earlier in January.

‘This area on the west side of Dartmoor is a hotspot area because it’s where a lot of dog walkers tend to go, but it has never been as bad as this before.’

Farmer Ann Cole has been left shocked by the incidents, paying tribute to members of the public who alerted her to some of the injured animals and to one owner of a dog involved in one of the earlier attacks in January, who owned up to the incident.

In all cases, she said, she had called the vet but they were too badly injured to save. ‘There was nothing the vet could to for them,’ she said.

The four attacks on sheep over the past week were all on different days, but were all carried out in the same way, with the throat slashed and the animals left to bleed to death.

Karla said: ‘This is a massive welfare issue. The four sheep killed in the past week have all been killed in the same area and they all have the same injuries. I have been doing this job for 11 years and I have seen many many attacks and I would say these ones have been done by a relatively big dog that is running alongside the sheep and catching them around the throat and pulling them down to the ground. These are not little lambs, these are big adult sheep.’

Ann added: ‘I think it must be the same dog because it is very consistent, the way they are being killed.

‘These sheep that are being killed are in lamb so it is not just one sheep we are losing, it is two or even three. The owners must know because the sheep are coming back covered in blood.’

She is worried that the dog will attack again. ‘This dog has a taste for it, and once they have a taste for it, you can’t stop them,’ she said. Anyone who has seen an out of control dog in the area is urged to contact Dartmoor livestock protection welfare officer Karla McKechnie on 07873 58756.