Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill 2024-25

The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill 2024-25 is a private member’s presentation bill, which has government support. It is sponsored by Aphra Brandreth MP (Con) and was introduced in the House of Commons on 21 October 2024. The bill extends to England and Wales only. Explanatory notes to the bill (PDF) and an impact assessment (PDF) have been published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The bill passed its second reading on 29 November 2024, without debate. Its committee stage was held on 21 May 2025. Report stage is scheduled for 4 July 2025.

The explanatory notes (PDF) say the bill would improve enforcement against livestock worrying by dogs by extending police powers to obtain evidence of an offence. It would also extend the offence from being limited to agricultural land to include roads and paths, and expand the definition of livestock currently afforded protection to include camelids (large ruminating hoofed mammals such as llamas and alpacas). The bill would increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an unlimited fine.

The current offence of livestock worrying

Livestock worrying by dogs is an offence under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 (as amended). The act makes it an offence to be in charge of a dog that worries livestock on any agricultural land. It defines worrying as:

(a) attacking livestock, or

(b) chasing livestock in such a way as may reasonably be expected to cause injury or suffering to the livestock or, in the case of females, abortion, or loss of or diminution in their produce.

or

(c) being at large (that is to say not on a lead or otherwise under close control) in a field or enclosure in which there are sheep

The extent of livestock worrying

The National Sheep Association (a membership organisation representing UK sheep producers) farmer survey for 2025 showed that 87% of survey respondents experienced a dog attack on their sheep flock in the last 12 months and said that sheep attacks by dogs were becoming more severe with a greater level of injuries.

In its Rural Crime Report 2025 (PDF) the insurance and investment company NFU Mutual said the estimated cost of livestock worrying had fallen by a quarter to almost £1.8 million in 2024, following “NFU Mutual campaigning alongside industry efforts to increase awareness among dog owners”.

Previous work to amend the law on livestock worrying

The Johnson Conservative government published an Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021, which intended to extend the scope of livestock worrying legislation. In June 2021 the government published a press release announcing that new measures to address livestock worrying would be included in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. The bill would have repealed the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 and provided new, increased powers for the police and a broader scope of livestock species and locations covered under the legislation. The bill was carried over to the 2022–23 session, but was eventually withdrawn by the government in 2023 because of concerns about attempts to widen the bill beyond its original scope.

On 11 December 2023, a private member’s bill, Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill 2023-24, was introduced to the House of Commons by Dr Thérèse Coffey (Con, now Baroness Coffey). Rather than replace the existing legislation, as was proposed in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, it would have amended the existing legislation. The bill was not passed before the 2024 general election, and so fell. Aphra Brandreth’s bill is the same as the version of Dr Coffey’s bill as brought from the Commons (HL Bill, 82 2023-24, following amendment at report stage in the Commons).

Stakeholder responses

The bill has been broadly welcomed by stakeholders. The trade union membership organisation, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has welcomed it, as has the Farmers’ Union of Wales and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The RSPCA has also called for the bill to be widened to protect a wider range of animals from worrying, to extend it to woodland grazing land, and asked for assurances about the welfare of any dogs seized under the legislation.