Five sheep have been attacked by a dog at Jawbones, with one unlikely to survive and the threat of abortion still looming.

Lower Swannaton Farm, Dartmouth, is owned by Geoff and Marie Sharam, and Geoff told us that five of his sheep were attacked by a lurcher that had got loose on Sunday, March 5, and urged people to keep their dogs on leads.

“We caught the dog, I didn’t shoot it although I could have done, I didn’t have the heart for it. It chased my 22-year-old horse who ended up with an injury to its leg, it chased two sheep into the stream, two into a hedge and all together I have five with bite wounds.

“One is seriously injured, she might not make it.”

Geoff explained that most of his sheep are in lamb, and the vet says it can take up to three days to know if any of them will abort due to the stress.

The one seriously injured sheep is heavily in lamb and is being treated with antibiotics for her wounds but she might still die. The dog had chased her into the wire fence, so she couldn’t escape, and then bit her repeatedly from behind.

Geoff explained that the lambing season usually runs between March 1 and April 30, with some farmers lambing as early as January and February.

Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 the owner and anyone else who is in control the dog at the time will be guilty of a criminal offence if it worries livestock on agricultural land. ‘Livestock’ includes cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses and poultry.

The police and dog warden are dealing with the incident.