A SERIES of proposals to tackle the serious impact of livestock worrying in a national park has been unveiled.

The North York Moors National Park Authority’s local access forum is set to consider proposals which could see social media and positive messages used in an attempt to lower livestock worrying and dog attacks.

The move follows North Yorkshire Police recording 329 cases of livestock worrying in the four years to August 2017, in which 280 sheep were killed and 292 were injured and in 16 of the recorded incidents, the dog was shot.

National park authority officers say they believe the number of incidents could be higher and a plan to encourage farmers to log incidents to improve understanding of the extent of cattle worrying is among their recommendations.

Other plans include encouraging livestock owners to communicate with dog walkers using signs and, where applicable, social media to let them know where livestock are turned out.

To further reinforce the campaign, the committee will also consider using positive messages, rather than ‘shock’ images of dead livestock, as research has found dog owners do not associate them with their family pet.