A couple of years ago now, one of the tenant farmers had trouble with dogs worrying his sheep. 2 alsatians and a jack russel. One of his workers recognised the dogs and had a polite and quiet word with the owner.
Week later they were in the field again chasing the sheep, 2 warning shots were fired and they ran off. Another quiet and polite word was had with the owner.
A few weeks later, 2 dead lambs, several aborting ewes and sheep being chased into a frenzy-yes, the same 3 dogs were back. They were chased off again, the police were called, and all subsequent bills (vets, loss of livestock etc were sent to the owner of the dogs. It ended up in court as they refused to pay, and while im not sure how the sorry tale ended up, the dogs were never back after that.
No, the dogs should not have been there, and it was only by the grace of god that the farmer was an animal-lover as well as a businessman that only warning shots were fired, but to me its as clear as day that..once again..it is irresponsible owners, who not only cause untold damage, loss and distress but also have a knock-on effect and spoil it for responsible owners and well trained dogs.