A dog warden has told the trial of law professor Diarmuid Phelan that farmers are “perfectly within their rights” to shoot loose dogs on farms when they are “worrying sheep” and it is not “an inappropriate response”.
Mr Phelan, who denies murdering a trespasser in a fatal shooting at his farm, told gardaí in his interviews that he had seen a dog “apparently alone and loose” on his lands, which he shot at as he thought it was a risk to his sheep. The accused said if there was no threat he would not have shot at the dog but he had a “split second” to make up his mind.
When officers put it to the leading barrister that the Lurcher dog he had shot was tied up, Mr Phelan replied: “To me he wasn’t visibly tied up.”
The accused told detectives that he was terrified when three men then “exploded” out of bushes “screaming and roaring” at him and began “effectively threatening” him about who had shot their dog. The defendant told detectives that he had shouted at the men to stay back, but they “kept coming” and he believed they were “coming to fulfil the threats they had made”.
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Mr Phelan (56) has pleaded not guilty to murdering father-of-four Keith “Bono” Conlon (36) at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, Dublin 24, on February 24th, 2022.
The jury has heard that on the day in question three men – the deceased Keith Conlon, along with Kallum Coleman and Robin Duggan – had trespassed on a wooded area of Mr Phelan’s land while hunting foxes or badgers.
Evidence has been given that the accused had shouted at two unarmed trespassers on his farm to “get back” before he fired three shots from his Smith & Wesson revolver. Mr Phelan maintains he accidentally hit Mr Conlon while firing “warning shots” during the confrontation.
The defence on Tuesday called further witnesses to testify in the case on behalf of Mr Phelan.
A dog warden for South Dublin County Council told Michael Bowman SC, defending, that on occasion he had come in contact with incidents where dogs attacked sheep on farms.
Mr Bowman put it to witness Phillip Behan that dogs also “worry sheep”, which is the biggest problem. The witness said dogs chase sheep and if a ewe is in lamb they can abort.
Mr Bowman put it to the witness that the view is farmers are perfectly within their rights to shoot dogs on their land. Mr Behan said once the dog is worrying sheep, the farmer has a right to shoot the dog if there is no other option and they see the dog is “free”. He said the instant of discharging the firearm must be reported to gardaí.
The witness also agreed that illegal hunting can occur and that badger baiting is illegal.
Mr Behan said he got a call last September that an XL Bully dog had come onto a farmer’s land, a field away from the accused’s farm. The witness said the farmer had no option but to shoot the dog, as when the farmer went to try and apprehend it, the animal “went for him”.
The witness said he was also informed about an incident in March last year where a dog got into a farmer’s field, killing 31 sheep and causing 34 to abort.
The trial continues on Wednesday before Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford and a jury of nine men and three women.
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