MORE than 40 sheep have been mauled, of which 16 have died, as a result of dog attacks near the Crychan Forest in nine days.

Farmer Colwyn Jones, who owns all of the affected sheep, has involved the police on two separate occasions after finding the injured and dead sheep on his farmland in the Esgair Fwyog area.

The sheep, which are believed to have been attacked over two weekends, were found with bite marks to their throats and some of them were covered in blood.

Mr Jones said: “The first was on Monday, October 8 when seven ewes died because they were killed or had to be put down. The second was on Monday, October 15 when four were found dead and 24 were injured.”

The death count rose again to 16 in total after the second incident as more sheep had to be put down following their injuries.

The sheep were in a 30-acre block which is divided into fields on the border between Powys and Carmarthenshire.

The area between Tirabad and Cynghordy is surrounded by forestry with a Natural Resources Wales picnic area half a mile away.

“It’s very odd really, I can’t understand how so many have been injured.

“Every sheep that was attacked, it had been attacked by the throat under its jaw - whatever dog it was, it was a real killer”.

Mr Jones said: “We don’t know whether it was more than one dog on either incident but people are going to the picnic site to exercise their dogs, letting their dogs loose and some of them are out of control. We didn’t see anything at all, we just found them after. Whoever’s dog it was, they must have known. There was a lot of blood from where they’d been attacked so there must have been blood on the dog as well.”

Since the second incident, Powys County Council has put signs up in the area which tell dog owners to keep their pets under control.

The signs also warn that any dog which is caught worrying livestock is at risk of being shot.

As it is believed the dogs are coming from the picnic area, NRW have also added signs to the outdoor food area which warn CCTV is in operation.

Mr Jones said: “A dog should definitely be on a lead around livestock. They don’t have to be in the forest, but when they’re near the livestock they should. The police haven’t found anything, but they have put signs up – what more can they do? They’ve done what they can, the neighbouring farms have also been told. I don’t want any more of this, it’s horrible. It really is a nasty thing to see.”

Dyfed-Powys Police’s Rural Crime Team, which was set up in 2018, reported that dog attacks on sheep have been reported every other since the start of October.

The dogs which have mainly been spotted attacking sheep in Powys include Huskies, Husky crosses, Jack Russell Terriers, Labradors, Labradoodles, Collies and Collie crosses.

PC Simon Gibbard-Jones, of the Rural Crime Team, attended both of the incidents with Mr Jones.

He said: “We don’t know what happened, we’re all in the dark about this. I imagine it was more than one dog, but I don’t know.

“The sheep had been attacked and there were bite marks to the throat areas on the sheep.”

PC Gibbard-Jones said it was difficult to say whether there had been an increase in livestock worrying, but that people are more ready to report it now. He said: “Dogs should be kept on the lead at all times if there’s livestock around

“Farmers are allowed to protect their livestock if they think a dog is a threat.”

The Rural Crime Team also attended a sheep attack in the Pontfaen area on Thursday, October 18, where a public footpath runs through a livestock field.

A picture was shared on their Twitter account which looks like a scene from a horror film as the sheep, which is covered in blood, has deep bite marks to its face.