The IFA national Sheep Chairman has condemned the physical assault on a farmer in Wicklow that is understood to have taken place when walkers insisted that dogs be allowed access to a route on the farmers land.
The incident has been condemned by the Mountaineering Council while the President of the IFA Tim Cullinan described it as a serious setback for the relationship between landowners and recreational users.
The farmer in question had asked walkers not to bring dogs with them on to his lands after previous dog attacks on sheep.
IFA Sheep Chair Kevin Comiskey says the IFA’s campaign No Dogs Allowed is now in its third year and he’s now called on the authorities to take action
The Leitrim based farming official says there have been previous altercations between dog walkers and farmers in many areas including the north west in the past and that it was only a matter of time before an incident like this took place:
