Yahoo News 'It's coming at us': Moment farmer finds XL Bully dogs savaging dozens of sheep and shoots them
The traumatic moment a farmer had to shoot dead two XL bullies after they killed and injured dozens of his sheep, has been caught on camera. The dogs had got into the sheep's pen at Paul Jones' farm in Rhosllanerchrugog, near Wrexham, last year.
Twenty-two sheep carrying lambs were killed, and another 48 injured, before both dogs were shot. North Wales Police officers arrived, but - with firearms officers still 25 miles (40km) away - Mr Jones felt forced to take action.
The attack was caught on the officers' body cameras while they were filming the latest series of Y Llinell Las for S4C. In the footage - with a shotgun in his hand - he is seen telling police that about 15 sheep were already dead, with a total of 110 in the pen with the dogs.
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One officer is heard asking a colleague: "He's allowed to kill them, isn't he?" Another officer then tells Mr Jones that it is "more than lawful" for him to shoot both dogs.
Mr Jones told the officers: "These dogs will come out and they're going to come at me." Then, armed with his shotgun, he enters the barn and shoots the dogs.
The dogs can be heard barking, before a gunshot is fired. An officer then asks: "Are they both dead?", but Mr Jones replies: "No they're not, they're still moving."
An officer, while running away, then says: "Still moving? It's there, it's coming at us." Another gunshot is then heard.
The farmer is asked if he is okay after, and he replies: "I've had to shoot dogs before, but it is just the upset of this." Bodycam footage from an officer then shows the horrific scale of the dog attack, with sheep killed and others badly injured.
The BBC reported how Mr Jones had previously said he was still struggling to come to terms with the attack which he said was "horrifying". He said he was thankful it was him who came across the dogs and not a member of his family.
He told the BBC: "Everyone who attended that day, it affected... they threw those sheep around like they were paper." The BBC reported that the owner of the dogs later admitted being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and being the owner of a dog worrying livestock, and was banned from owning a dog for five years and fined £900.
According to Iwan Owen, a member of the Rural Crime Team, who has over 40 years of experience with the police, attacks on sheep occur weekly in North Wales. The farmer in this case lost around £14,000 worth of animals in the attack. The first episode of the new series of Y Llinell Las was shown on S4C at 9pm on Tuesday, May 14, and is also available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.
As so much of the north Wales landscape is agricultural land, the police have a team that specifically investigate rural crime. The S4C programme follows the unit as they respond to incidents. Iwan said: "I'm sure the traffic gang are fed up with people who drink and drive. Well, for us, it's the sheep attacks that happen over and over.
"Why the hell would someone want an XL Bully? I don’t understand why would you want a dog like that in a home. Think how strong they are, how much damage they can do - it's life-threatening. Farmers are tough guys - they're used to dogs and getting hold of them, but you wouldn’t get hold of an XL Bully. There's not much of a chance for you to walk away without being terribly injured."
But dogs are also an essential part of the police’s work. PC Siôn Parry has been an officer with North Wales Police for over 15 years and working for the Dog Unit has been an ambition in his career.
Siôn said: "I always compare a dog to ten policemen. Sometimes more. People want to fight with policemen, nobody wants to fight with a dog. If you go to someone and tell them to leave and there's a dog salivating and barking - if you're smart, you leave.”
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