A WEST Dorset farmer is counting what careless dog owners have cost him this lambing season.

Joe Lintell from Mapperton has just had 18 of his sheep rejected by the butcher, worth more than £1000 - because they are infected with a worm carried by dogs.

Mr Lintell said the worm attacked the sheep’s intenstines and worked their way through to the carcass.

He said: “We sent 60 to the abattoir and 18 were rejected because they had c ovis.

“We may have had one very occasionally but 18 out of 60 is quite a lot. That represents quite a substantial loss for us.

“We have a footpath on the farm.

“There is nothing that can be used of the carcass. It only happens in dogs that are not wormed.

“I think dog owners have a responsibility.

“Interestingly it is a problem New Zealand had and they had a campaign and all dog people had to carry a card with them that showed when the animal was last wormed.

“Farmers could ask for this card. Obviously you don’t want that to happen here but it will if people are not more careful.”

He said dog mess was not just a problem for farmers, he said.

“The amount of dog excreta on the village cricket pitch where young people play is horrendous and this particular worm will make humans blind.

“Even picking up the mess might not work, it is quite a small worm and that wouldn’t be a guarantee.”

Now the West Dorset branch of the NFU is mounting a campaign to get the message across.

Beaminster NFU branch chairman Tina Lester-Card said: “In cattle it is more problematical , for whilst you can treat dogs for tape worm, you cannot treat for Neospora, which dogs also carry and deposit with their faeces.

“This causes cows to abort their calves, possibly repeatedly, meaning that they are unable to produce milk and in many cases resulting in the cow having no profitable future.”

NFU branch secretary Jennie Greenwood said a number of local farmers have seen as much as 25 per cent of their lamb crop rejected from the abattoir as they were found to be infested with Cysticercus Ovis, the larva of dog tape worm, which renders the meat valueless.

She said: “Unfortunately there is no treatment available for sheep, only for dogs - for an average sized dog the cost of worming is likely to be around £25 per annum.”

Bridport vet Barry O’Mahoney of Bredy Vets said: “Each poo left behind could contain 750000 eggs, cattle and sheep can be susceptible for up to six months after it has apparently disappeared from sight and mind, as it lives on in the pasture.”

NFU Dorset County Chairman Trevor Clig said: “Farmers need help from the public in order to keep the countryside healthy.

“These problems in cattle and sheep are becoming more prevalent and the public can help by simply picking up behind their dogs.

“Where dog walking takes place on the farm we tend to see livestock suffering from these problems, which has a huge economic impact on agriculture across the country.”