POLICE are appealing to dog owners to take responsibility for their pets when walking farmland following a spate of attacks on livestock.

Two sheep were believed to have been killed by a dog in a Southend field in Wotton-under-Edge.

The savage attack took place between 5pm on Thursday, December 13 and 11.25am on Friday, December 14.

This follows an appeal from Gloucestershire police earlier this month to find the owner of two Saluki dogs that were shot and killed in Sandhurst on Saturday, December 8, while they were attacking sheep on farmland.

Landowners have the right, as a last resort, to shoot any dog worrying their livestock.

A total of 29 sheep have been killed in the county over the six weeks up until Monday, December 17.

Speaking after the Sandhurst incident, PC Jon Palfrey, rural and environmental crime officer for the county, said: "Whilst pet dogs are usually harmless and obedient their natural instinct is to chase other animals so owners need to take precautions when walking their pet through farmland.

"Dog owners have a responsibility to keep their pet under control and these terrible incidents should act as a stark reminder as to why there is legislation in place outlining that dog owners must keep their animal under close control.

"We by no means want to stop dog walkers from enjoying the beautiful countryside our county has to offer but we do want to remind them of their responsibility to keep their pet under control when out and about."

Anyone with any information about the incident in Wotton-under-Edge is asked to call Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 113 of December 14.