The owner of four dogs that killed 25 sheep in fields near Lampeter has been fined £75 – which the victims have called ‘a slap in the face’.

Evan Jones, 37, of Blaendyffryn, Creuddyn Bridge near Lampeter, appeared before magistrates in Aberystwyth on Wednesday, 14 August where he was fined £75 as the owner of four dogs, believed to be Alsatians, who carried out the attack in April 2023.

He was ordered to pay the fine and £85 in court costs as the owner of the dogs ‘worrying livestock’ at Berthela and Rhyd y Gof Uchaf.

A newton hearing had been scheduled on three separate occasions to hear evidence from witnesses, but they were never called and the case was eventually dealt with by way of a fine, which has left the victims feeling ‘robbed of justice’.

Liz Nutting, a small holder, lost 10 ewes in the attack, with many more injured, with a neighbouring farmer losing 15 sheep.

Mrs Nutting, who runs a flock of pedigree Ryeland sheep with her husband, Iain, and daughter, Hannah, said the attack was shocking and has led the family to no longer breed the flock.

She said: “We had sheep with legs and tails torn off, the dogs had ripped away their upper jaws and they were choking on their own blood.

“You can never forget seeing something as awful as that.

“Between us and the other farm 25 sheep were lost in total with another 30 injured.

“The cost to us for the loss of livestock is around £7,000.

“We have been left with the feeling that justice hasn’t been done.

“The £75 fine for the attack is a slap in the face.

“It’s an insult to hardworking farmers.

“We are no longer breeding the flock as we feel we can’t start all over again and the dogs are still there.

“It could happen again. We still have anxiety.

“It’s changed the way we live here.”

The case took 16 months to come to its conclusion, with witnesses called on three separate occasions, but each time the court ran out of time to hear their evidence.

Mrs Nutting said the rural crime team that had investigated the incident had been very supportive.

However, she is critical of the judicial system.

She welcomes The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill.

It applies to England and Wales and had its first reading in the House of Lords on 20 May 2024.

“I want to see that bill ratified by the Lords as a matter of urgency.

“Also, the farming community and the police given the support they deserve,” she said.

If the bill becomes an Act of Parliament, it will allow for offenders to be given an unlimited fine.

It will also give police greater powers to respond more effectively to the worrying or attacking of livestock by dogs.

Officers would be able to seize a dog or dogs they believe has been involved in an incident when the owner is not present, search properties and take samples and collect dental impressions.

No dogs were seized following the incident.

Mrs Nutting said a law change is desperately needed.

“We are constantly told that farmers are valued and how important it is that we care for our animals.

“But then when something like this happens, you don’t get the support you desperately need.

“If the police were allowed to take DNA in this incident then they could have proved these dogs attacked our livestock.”

Mrs Nutting is meeting with local MP Ben Lake later this month, who has been instrumental in getting the bill through Parliament.