Man banned for seven years for dog attacks on sheep
© Tim Scrivener A man whose dogs repeatedly chased, mauled and killed sheep in Northamptonshire has been banned from walking any dog near livestock for seven years, following a string of horrific attacks that left farmers devastated.
Jose Lopez-Vidal, 62, of Laburnum Close, Woodford Halse, allowed his dogs Bandit and Ace to roam off-lead, resulting in a series of violent incidents, including one on 16 March this year when the dogs chased two in-lamb ewes near Preston Capes.
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One ewe later died after giving birth to three stillborn lambs.
An investigation by Northamptonshire Police’s Rural Crime Team found Lopez-Vidal’s dogs were linked to three separate sheep-worrying incidents between December 2024 and February 2025, all involving ewes or lambs being distressed, injured or killed.
© Northamptonshire Police
Lopez-Vidal admitted five counts of being the owner of a dog worrying livestock at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 2 June.
He was fined £1,333, ordered to pay £1,038 in compensation, plus costs and a victim surcharge.
More significantly, on 14 July, a rare Section 1A order under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 was imposed.
It prevents him from allowing any dog in his control onto farmland where livestock are present – or likely to be – for seven years.
“This incident has really upset me,” said one affected farmer. “I have lost confidence in people walking through our fields. Seeing our ewes go through that, and losing one, is heartbreaking.”
PC Chloe Gillies, of Northamptonshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, added: “The repeated failure of Jose Lopez-Vidal to control his dogs caused unnecessary suffering and financial loss.
“His sentencing demonstrates that the crime of livestock worrying is taken seriously by our Force and the courts.”
If a livestock worrying incident is happening on your farm, call 999 immediately. To report a past incident, call 101.