A MAN whose two dogs savaged sheep on farms has ended up with a £1,158 court bill.
Damien Morris, of Bryn Clyd, Leeswood near Mold, was due to go on trial at Flintshire Magistrates Court at Mold yesterday on two charges of owning dogs, one a Staffordshire bull terrier, which worried livestock.
But Morris, 29, pleaded guilty to both charges and was fined £180 with £100 costs.
He was also ordered to pay £878 in compensation to two local farmers.
The court heard there had been a third alleged incident where the two dogs had been shot by another farmer.
Magistrates heard three sheep had been killed at one farm. Another sheep had been killed at a second farm and veterinary bills had been run up treating others.
Prosecutor Helen Hall said following complaints in March police visited Morris’ address and found a quantity of sheep’s wool on grass outside his front gate.
Morris originally said that was stuffing from a pillow and then said it was the stuffing from his pet dogs’ teddy bear.
Interviewed, he said he did own two similar dogs but he could not say where his dogs were at the time.
Miss Hall said a further complaint was made in April but that did not result in a prosecution.
The two dogs had been shot by a third farmer and witnesses had identified them as the same dogs that had worried their sheep earlier.
Gary Harvey, defending, said it was a distressing case for the farmers who had lost sheep but it was also a distressing case for his client, who had lost both his dogs.
He accepted full responsibility. He was very sorry and full of remorse for what had happened.
The issue for the trial would have been whether or not the bench could have been sure that the dogs that worried sheep were his.
But the defendant had now accepted they were.
His dogs interacted well with humans and he was not aware they would cause problems for sheep. He also felt guilty that perhaps he could have improved security for his pets to prevent them escaping.
Mr Harvey added his client was not a well man. He had previously spent nine weeks in hospital with heart trouble when he came close to losing his life.