A FARMER is furious that police have released two dogs he suspects of attacking about 40 of his sheep.
Meirion Cordiner managed to catch two huskies he believes were responsible for the blood-soaked rampage on land near Bradley in Wrexham.
But the animals were later handed back to their owner after being released from the pound where they were taken.
Mr Cordiner, 43, has a farm at Llanferres near Mold and kept about 250 sheep on land he rents at Bradley.
On Thursday morning he was alerted by the landowner that some of the flock had been seen in Llay with blood on them.
Mr Cordiner said: “I arrived there and couldn’t believe what I saw.
“There were dead sheep everywhere along the bank of the River Alyn and some were stranded on the rocks in the middle.
“They must have been cornered in the river by the dogs.
“Some had terrible bite marks around their necks and one ewe had her lower jaw bitten off.
“I’ve been farming since I was 16 but have never seen anything like this before.
“I reckon 21 of the sheep have been killed, 19 were savaged and another 16 are still missing.”
He added: “While I was there a man came up to me and said he needed help with two husky dogs which had tried to get into his deer pen.
“He was trying to fend them off with a hammer.
“We chased and held on to them until the police arrived with the dog warden.
“They were taken away and put in a pound but I was appalled when the police got in touch later and said they had been given back to their owner.
“In my view they should have put down.”
A spokesman for North Wales Police said: “We have insufficient evidence at this stage for these two dogs to to be detained.
“Meanwhile, the investigation continues. We are appealing for any witnesses and also appeal for owners to keep their dogs under control.
“Farmers are entitled to deal with any dogs that are caught worrying sheep and we are sure that responsible owners would want to keep their dogs safe.”