NORTH Yorkshire Police has joined a scheme to close legal loopholes against dog owners whose pets attack livestock.

Farmers have reported 325 dog attacks on livestock in North Yorkshire since September 2013, with injury costing owners thousands of pounds, but gaps in the current laws can make it difficult for police to deal with the issue and seize the animals responsible.

This week, the force has joined up with North Wales Police, Sussex Police, Hertfordshire Police and Devon and Cornwall Police, Sheepwatch UK and the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England to launch a new initiative which gathers more information on dog attacks on livestock, and the power of police to deal with them.

Chief Constable Dave Jones said the scheme will look at how attacks are reported, recorded and handled, and assess whether the law needs to be changed or updated.

Mr Jones, who is the national policing lead for rural and wildlife crime, said: “The definition of livestock doesn’t cover all the types of animals that we know can be affected. In some cases, the police can’t legally seize a dog that has been involved in an attack, which makes it difficult to prevent the same thing happening again.

“Whilst livestock damage can be extremely costly for the animals’ owner, the maximum fine under law is relatively low and can be disproportionate to the loss. We believe that there may be scope for the law to be tightened up, but we need hard evidence to confirm it.”

Mr Jones said the initiative would help gather more evidence, which could be used to call for a change in the law.

The scheme was launched this week, with an event at the House of Lords, where the issue of livestock worrying and dog control was discussed with MPs from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare.

Police have also urged dog owners to be responsible when out in the countryside during lambing season, and to keep their pets on a lead around livestock. Farmers should report incidents on 101.