Property owner Warren Cosgrove lost 22 cross bred first cross ewes, who were in lamb, two Poll Dorset rams and four lambs.

Warren said the two pigging dogs also attacked another sheep while he was present.

“It was really shocking to see them left alive in that state,” he said.

Mr Cosgrove said that besides the distress the sheep are put through, there is also the financial strain placed on the landholder caused by losing a large number

of stock.

“Ewes are worth a lot of money. It will cost about $170-180 a head these days to replace them,” he said.

Mr Cosgrove’s neighbour also lost another 15 sheep in the same time period.

Despite the destruction caused by the dogs, Mr Cosgrove does not blame them.

“It is not the dog’s fault- they are trained to kill,” he said.

“The fault lies with the irresponsible owners who do not keep an eye on their dogs, and keep them contained.”

Dogs mauling sheep is becoming a real problem, four years ago Mr Cosgrove lost 10 ewes and 14 lambs to dogs at his property at Burraga.

He is adamant that something needs to be done to keep tabs on problem animals and force owners to be held accountable.

“They should have to have their dogs

all micro chipped,”

he said.

The Oberon Police said that landholders who find dogs attacking their livestock are permitted to shoot the dog, provided that it is safe to do so.

Police also said that if the landholder knows the owner of the dog, they should approach them about the situation.

Other options for landholders who discover a dog mauling or killing livestock is to video tape the attack to identify the dog, or if it is safe to do so, to catch and impound the dog so that it can be scanned for a microchip to find the owner.