Dog kills 45 sheep in bloody rampage as farmer who found their dead and mutilated bodies said grisly discovery was ‘absolutely traumatic’

A dog killed 45 sheep in a bloody disaster. The farmer who found their dead and mutilated bodies says the grisly discovery was “absolutely traumatic.”

Police are investigating after eight ewes and 20 lambs were killed in the brutal incident on a farm in Lamerton near Tavistock, Devon, last Sunday.

A further 13 ewes and four lambs were destroyed in the attack and had to be put down due to their brutal injuries.

And fourteen lambs were left orphaned, while only four survived the devastating cruelty.

Farmer Ali Dawe said the dog attacked across three fields and the woolly mammals’ faces were destroyed when he found them.

He thinks it could have been the work of more than one large dog and has found 4-inch wide paw prints from the dogs, as well as DNA.

Mr Dawe said: ‘Those dogs would have been very tired from the blood on their faces.

Police are investigating after eight ewes and 20 lambs were killed in the brutal incident on a farm in Lamerton near Tavistock, Devon, last Sunday.

A further 13 ewes and four lambs were destroyed in the attack and had to be put down due to their brutal injuries

He thinks it could have been the work of more than one large dog and has found four-inch wide paw prints from the dogs, as well as DNA.

‘We felt absolutely shocked, it didn’t sink in at first. We had to put a number of sheep out of their misery.

‘Some were rare stock animals and you lose the bloodlines. We have to replace them because of an incident that shouldn’t have happened.

‘We recovered DNA from the stab wounds. That’s never been done before, so hopefully we can prove that a dog did it.”

The farmer explained that the innocent animals had been chased through the three fields and that abused sheep had been trapped in fences and hedges through which they had tried to escape.

Mr Dawe suspects the vicious dogs were not locked up that night and now fears they could come back.

He continued: “It’s very emotional, just thinking about those poor mothers protecting their lambs.

‘They were all facial attacks and so many were still alive, that’s the terrible thing, they were doing their best to protect their young.

‘It’s like a game for these animals (dogs) – this is over 50 hectares and they were scattered all over streams, hedgerows, fences by fences.’

Farmer Ali Dawe (pictured) said the dog attacked across three fields and the woolly mammals’ faces were destroyed when he found them

Fourteen lambs were left orphaned, while only four survived the devastating cruelty

The farmer explained that the innocent animals had been chased through the three fields and that abused sheep had been trapped in fences and hedges through which they had tried to escape.

Mr Dawe suspects the vicious dogs were not locked up that night and now fears they could come back. In the photo: surviving sheep

Police say the sheep are believed to have been attacked by a dog or dogs and are calling on anyone with information to come forward.

Dartmoor livestock protection officer Karla McKechnie said it was the worst attack she had ever seen – and told how she was left ‘sick’ by the incident.

“I’ve been doing this job for a while now and I’ve had to deal with some major attacks, but I have to say this is the best of them all,” she told the newspaper. BBC.

‘I don’t even feel angry, I feel sad and sick when a farmer calls you and doesn’t know which way to go.

“It’s a bloodbath and I feel desperate for them, absolutely desperate.”