Appeal for witnesses after animals were attacked by dog in Stroud
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Officers in Stroud are appealing for information as it's believed that two farm animals were attacked by a dog last week.
A farmer contacted police to report that a sheep and alpaca had been found injured and stated that he thought they had been attacked by a dog.
The attack is believed to have taken place in private fields off Butterrow West, Rodborough at some point between 6pm on Wednesday and 6.30am on Thursday
Both animals were left badly injured and required veterinary treatment.
The dog which attacked the animals is currently unknown and officers are appealing for members of the public who may have seen a dog roaming around covered in blood, in the Butterrow area or on the Common.
They are also asking for the dog's owner to come forward.
Information can be submitted online by completing the following form and quoting incident 413 of 2 February: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/ Alternatively you can call police on 101.
Police would like to remind all dog owners of their responsibility to keep their dogs under full control, especially around livestock.
Owners can be prosecuted and if convicted could face a fine of up to £1000. These attacks cause stress to both livestock and owners, so we strongly urge dog owners to think before letting dogs off their leads.
When walking dogs in rural areas, dog owners are advised about the following:
1) Always ensure your dog is under control in an area where there are livestock or wild animals.
2) Be particularly vigilant during lambing season and always keep dogs on a lead during this time.
3) If your dog is not good with other animals or people, avoid letting them off their lead when others are around.
4) Don't allow people who may not be confident in doing so or have full control over the animal to walk your dog.
5) Remember where there may be no livestock in a field one day, the same location could be full of animals the next.