Farmers blast new working dog restrictions in welfare guidelines

Sheep producers are incredulous at suggestions they should minimise the use of working dogs, under industry required animal welfare plans.

Sheep producers are incredulous at suggestions they should minimise the use of working dogs, under industry required animal welfare plans.

Last week, The Weekly Times reported on the requirement for animal welfare plans to keep accreditation with the Livestock Production Assurance program from September.

And those plans must follow industry wide standards and guidelines, some of which refer to the use of working dogs.

The issue has created an uproar, with comments on The Weekly Times Facebook page ranging from confused to angry and even humorous.

Nicholas Petropoulos said good dogs could move stock with less stress than other means such as “revving engines and beeping horns on ATVS”.

“There’s many situations we use a dog to calmly bring stock across a hillside you wouldn’t safely bring an ATV across,” Mr Petropoulos said.

Jeff Southall said farmers knew how to look after their stock.

“Sheep are way more stressed in sheep yards without dogs,” Mr Southall said.

“Imagine having 4000 ewes in the yards to preg (pregnancy) scan and letting the sheep wander through at their leisure.

“Runing around and waving your hands at them, that’s more stressful for the animals.”

James Wasley said good dogs created less stress for sheep and branded the move “ridiculous”.

“They are more agile than us and the less time sheep spend in the yards, the less stress they go through,” Mr Wasley said.

“A person chasing a sheep is more stressful than a dog.”

But there was also some who found the funny side, suggesting that dogs might identify as humans which would make it possible for them to be used under the new guidelines.

Another suggested the plan could have been instigated by kelpies to be able to work from home.