Vale MP Alun Cairns is urging all farmers falling victim to livestock attacks, to report every incident to South Wales Police via 101.
Dog attacks on livestock in the Vale have been reported widely on social media in the recent months with many of the incidents resulting in sheep being left dead or seriously injured. A spike has been seen particularly in Hensol, with several dog attacks on sheep have been taking place.
One of the primary victims of these attacks has been the Jones family in Hensol who have lost several sheep in a short amount of time. Mr Ben Jones explained to his MP Alun Cairns how he may be faced with having to close down his farming business should another attack take place, as he cannot afford to lose further stock.
Mr Cairns visited the Jones family in Hensol to discuss the necessity of reporting every rural crime incident to the Police, in order that they can investigate with the maximum information available. The MP said, “Whilst social media is a valuable tool for spreading awareness of an issue, it is much more effective for a report to be made to the Police in order that local Officers can recognise any patterns forming. Having spoken to some affected farmers in the area about these attacks, it is unfortunate that many feel that some incidents are too insignificant to raise with the Police and therefore the majority of rural crime goes unreported. Every attack and rural crime incident must be reported to 101 if the issue is going to be resolved efficiently!”