A DEAD gimmer was found by Pitlochry based farmer Ronald Brown in one of his fields next to a public right of way.

Mr Brown told The Scottish Farmer that it had clearly been the result of a violent dog attack which left his gimmer with half of her face and throat ripped out.

The cattle and sheep farmer from Pressait Farm explained that the incident happened right in the middle of lambing with lots of pregnant ewes in the field.

“I had 150 ewes in the area and luckily so far we haven’t had any problems with abortions so perhaps the dog owner got the animal under control before it could do more damage to my flock.

“People don’t realise the damage dogs can do on their own,” he continued. “It’s even more difficult now for farmers with more and more people taking advantage of public right of ways and unlike before when you knew everybody, we can’t keep track of who is coming and going near the farm.

“I feel it is really important that people see images of the damage these dogs can do, otherwise how are they going to learn to take responsibility and understand what farmers are up against,” he stressed.

“Right now, I urge dog owners to stick by the rules and be aware that farmers are out lambing and lots of new lambs are running around the fields – keep your dog on a lead and respect the farmers workspace.”