Sheep worrying

Summary

The Isle of Man Constabulary provided a breakdown of recorded sheep worrying incidents between January 2018 and February 2020, detailing dates, outcomes, and casualty figures. The response disclosed that while 34 records were reviewed, no prosecutions had occurred for any events where enquiries were commenced.

Key Facts

• Data covers incidents from 01 January 2018 to 02 February 2020.
• 34 records were identified and reviewed for relevance to sheep worrying.
• Two-thirds of the events did not result in the death of any sheep.
• Almost half of the events recorded no deaths or injuries to any sheep.
• There have been no prosecutions for any events where police enquiries were commenced.

Data Disclosed

• 91 sheep killed
• 21 sheep injured
• 34 records
• 01 January 2018
• 02 February 2020
• 16/05/2018
• 14/06/2018
• 23/01/2020

Original Request

Could the Constabulary please provide a breakdown of recorded instances of sheep worrying around the Isle of Man between 01 January 2018 and the present day, including: - Date of incident; - Number of animals killed or injured; - Event outcome (ie. no action, prosecution); - Any additional notes filed in police report.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Police Headquarters Dukes Avenue Douglas Isle of Man IM2 4RG

Our ref: 1166149 7 February 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 5 February 2020 and which states:

"Could the Constabulary please provide a breakdown of recorded instances of sheep worrying around the Isle of Man between 01 January 2018 and the present day, including: - Date of incident; - Number of animals killed or injured; - Event outcome (ie. no action, prosecution); - Any additional notes filed in police report."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

Data was sourced from Control Room for events in the period between start of 2018 and end of 2nd of February 2020, for events closed as Dog Worrying Animals. In addition further searches were carried out for events mentioning sheep, then filtered for other keywords (dog, attack, worry, blood, kill, dead), and reviewed for relevance (excluding dog walker reporting sheep in road, references just to sheepdogs etc.)
This resulted in 34 records needing more detailed review. Some of these on closer investigation did not relate to an event of sheep worrying - dogs had been recorded worrying other dogs, swans, horses and chickens. Some related to same offending animal. Two-thirds of events did not record death of any sheep, almost half did not record any deaths or injuries to any sheep. The number of sheep injured or killed is based on figures explicitly noted in event remarks, but for some events it should be noted that number involved was estimated.
A count has not been included for number of sheep recorded simply as missing, which occurred in a couple of events. Control room data does not record final outcomes, so further searches were required of other systems for events where enquiries had been continued. For all events where enquiries commenced there have currently been no prosecutions. The Constabulary would ask dog walkers to be mindful of livestock when exercising their dogs in rural/country areas and keep them on a lead. Sheep and other livestock are often also reported to be on roads and road users should expect the unexpected. Table of results on following page.

Date Recorded Outcome (from qualifiers) Sum of sheep killed Sum of sheep injured 01/01/2018 No Further Police Action 0 0 25/03/2018 Advice Given - No Crime 0 0 14/04/2018 Report for Summons - Enquiries Commenced 0 1 21/04/2018 No Deployment Required - Assistance Provided 0 0 22/04/2018 No Deployment Required - Advised Event Only 0 0 27/04/2018 Advice Given - Enquiries Commenced 0 0 13/05/2018 Area Search, Negative Result 0 0 16/05/2018 Enquiries Commenced - Crime Report Submitted 40 1 18/05/2018 Enquiries Commenced 0 0 10/06/2018 Advice Given - Assistance Provided 0 1 12/06/2018 Enquiries Commenced - Assistance Provided 1 1 14/06/2018 Enquiries Commenced 33 3 26/06/2018 Advice Given - No Crime 0 0 29/08/2018 Enquiries Commenced - Message Delivered 1 5 05/12/2018 Enquiries Commenced - Assistance Provided 1 0 14/02/2019 Advice Given 1 1 08/03/2019 Enquiries Commenced 0 1 15/03/2019 No Further Police Action - Advice Given 0 0 29/03/2019 No Further Police Action 0 0 01/04/2019 Advice Given 0 0 11/04/2019 Advice Given - Enquiries Commenced 0 1 21/04/2019 Enquiries Commenced - Message Delivered 0 0 01/08/2019 No Further Police Action - Advice Given 0 0 18/08/2019 No Further Police Action - Advice Given 1 0 24/11/2019 No Further Police Action - Assistance Provided 1 1 27/11/2019 No Further Police Action - Advice Given 0 0 07/12/2019 Area Search, Negative Result - Assistance Provided 0 0 11/12/2019 Advice Given - Assistance Provided 0 2 15/12/2019 Advice Given - Enquiries Commenced 0 2 10/01/2020 Advice Given - No Deployment Required 0 0 16/01/2020 Enquiries Commenced - Assistance Provided 2 2 23/01/2020 Enquiries Commenced 10 1 24/01/2020 Advice Given - Enquiries Commenced 0 0 25/01/2020 Advice Given - Assistance Provided 0 0 Grand Total

91 21

Please quote the reference number 1166149 in any future communications.

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I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely