Cornwall farmers urged to report every livestock worrying incident

Picture this: you’re on a quiet lane and there’s a dog loose in a field full of sheep, no owner anywhere in sight. Do you stop? Do you ring anyone, or is it something you’d rather not get involved in? Devon and Cornwall Police say that hesitation, and the assumption that a minor-looking incident isn’t worth reporting, is exactly what’s letting repeat offenders carry on.

What the police are asking farmers to do

Working with the force’s Rural Affairs Team, Devon and Cornwall Police are encouraging farmers and livestock owners to report every incident of livestock worrying, however small it might seem at the time. A dog briefly off its lead near a flock, chased but not caught, can look like nothing worth troubling police over. Officers say that view is the problem.

Why even a minor incident is worth reporting

Reports, police say, help them identify repeat offenders, build intelligence around problem areas, and take action to protect livestock and rural communities. A single loose dog might be a one-off. A pattern of loose dogs from the same owner, in the same lane, at the same time of day, is something only shows up if each incident gets logged rather than shrugged off.

That is the case even when nothing was caught on camera and no one got a clear look at the owner. Every report adds to the picture, and it’s the picture that lets officers act.

What to do if you see it happening

If it’s safe to do so, police are asking people to record what details they can: a description of the dog, the owner if visible, any vehicle involved, and the exact location. Retaining CCTV footage, photographs or any other evidence helps too. But the key point, officers stress, is that none of that replaces actually reporting the incident to police. Evidence with no report attached to it doesn’t help build the picture.

How to report it

Non-emergency incidents can be reported via 101. If livestock worrying is happening at the time, the advice is to call 999.

Devon and Cornwall Police describe the information as vital to tackling livestock worrying and wider rural crime, and say that reporting, even the incidents that feel too small to bother with, is one of the more direct ways the public can support Cornwall’s farming communities.