DOG owners are being warned to ensure their pets are under control at all times when livestock is nearby.

The warning comes from NFU Mutual and with peak lambing season underway on farms across the area.

Farm animals worth £228,000 were injured or killed by dogs in the south west last year, the rural insurer said.

The News has reported multiple incidents of dogs off the lead attacking farm animals in west Dorset.

And the death of heavily pregnant Highland cow Gladis. which fell 40ft to her death after being chased by a dog near Askerswell, has sparked a national campaign to give farm animals greater protection.

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Rebecca Davidson, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Behind the figures, these horrific attacks are causing unbearable suffering to farm animals and anxiety for farmers as they deal with the aftermath.

“There’s a new generation of dog owners whose pandemic puppies are coming of age and they don’t know how their dog is going to behave around livestock."

With many dog owners planning to visit the countryside during coming weeks, as the weather improves and sheep are at their most vulnerable, NFU Mutual is calling for dog owners to:

• Keep dogs on the lead when walking in rural areas where livestock are kept but let go of the lead if chased by cattle

• Be aware that even small dogs can cause the distress, injury and death of farm animals

• Report attacks by dogs to the police or local farmers

• Don’t let dogs loose unsupervised in gardens near livestock fields – many attacks are caused by dogs which escape and attack sheep grazing nearby