The Farmers' Union of Wales is calling for the King’s Speech this month to include changes to legislation surrounding livestock attacks.

Writing to Lord Benyon, the FUW highlighted that dog attacks on livestock in Wales and England continue to represent a significant financial, emotional and welfare issue for farming families.

In his letter, FUW president Ian Rickman stresses: “At present, neither the police nor other agencies are required by the Home Office to record statistics of livestock attacks or mortalities and the FUW believes that this crime remains significantly under-reported and under-recorded.

“The inability to officially monitor the extent and impact of the issue - coupled with a lack of police powers to bring offenders to justice - has eroded confidence in reporting amongst our membership.”

Alongside the mandatory recording of dog attacks on livestock by all Welsh police forces, the FUW believes that a failure to report a dog attack should be an offence in order to ensure that badly injured sheep are not left with significant welfare issues.