Pregnant ewes suffer two-wheeled terrors

AMY Hough with a newborn lamb at her father's farm

SADDLEWORTH sheep farmers are facing a new threat in their bid to protect pregnant flocks - unthinking off-road cyclists who are terrifying ewes ready to give birth.

Now police are investigating after farmers complained bikers were ignoring "no trespassing" signs and causing mayhem.

Darren Hough (51), farms 235 acres of land spread over Wharmton, one of Saddleworth's highest and most distinguished landmarks.

He said: "Some mountain bikers are crazy. We have put signs up yet they think it's ok to ignore them and frighten the life out of ewes. It's a big joke to them. Many riders travel in groups at night.

"They use bright lights on their bikes which create confusion and panic, causing sheep to scatter and placing them in danger of injury."

A year ago, Darren lost some of his pregnant flock and newly-born lambs after horrific attacks by marauding dogs let off leads by careless owners.

His sheep suffered appalling injuries from dog bites which meant many had to be put down.

Currently, farmers are reporting a good lambing season, helped by weather, which has resulted in healthy returns.

"All we ask is visitors to the countryside remember that the sheep are our livelihood," he said.

Vulnerabilty

"We would be within our rights to close footpaths down during lambing, but we just want folk to understand and appreciate the vulnerability of the situation.

"As it is, warning notices are torn down and we even had an abusive one put in its place. Some people have no respect for our farms," he added.

Darren is supported by his daughter, Amy, a 21-year-old university student and his father Bryan (84), who is a legend in sheep farming and has written a book about his life.

The farmers' worries are backed by the National Sheep Association, whose chief executive Phil Stocker said: "We want people to enjoy the countryside. However, this comes with the need for individuals to act responsibly.

"The risk of heavily pregnant ewes miscarrying when distressed increases dramatically with riders taking ewes by surprise.

"This causes them to scatter and baby lambs to become separated from their mothers and starve as a result. "

"Off-roading is illegal if not done in areas where there is open access permission," he added. "But we encourage farmers to provide good signage to make areas of private land clear."

Police are now investigating and PC Lee Cullen of Saddleworth neighbourhood policing team said: "We have to help protect farmers livelihoods."

The NSA is urging members who experience sheep worrying by dogs to share their views in a survey at: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NSAsheepworrying17 or visit www.sheepworrying.org.uk.