A FARMER has been left devastated after marauding dogs slaughtered 17 breeding geese.

The early morning carnage shocked farmer Jim Mullineaux who said carcasses of geese and a duck were scattered around the farm.

It suggested that some of the geese were chased by several dogs.

Mr Mullineaux, of Peel Hall Farm at Astley, said: "It's strange, there was no commotion which would have caused the dogs to bark and alerted us."

He said in spring foxes had killed some of his birds but he had ruled them out his time as none of the geese were decapitated -- the fox's trade mark.

His son, Charles, said paw prints around a pond suggested one of the killers had been a large dog.

Charles, angered by the slaughter, said: "I've found dead geese in the field over near the East Lancashire Road and some on the canal side of the house. Others were in the pond and some in the brook. We don't think the dogs came from around here and in the past we have problems with lampers running their dogs on the fields."

Mr Mullineaux, of Peel Hall Farm at Astley, has had trouble with other livestock being chased around the farm, with hens and peacocks also being hounded.

He said that they would sometimes have as many as a hundred geese grazing at the farm and the lost stock was worth £500.

Now the farmers are warning they will shoot any dog that worries their livestock.

They have put a warning sign on a gate post opposite the farmyard telling dog owners to keep their dogs on a lead around the farm, otherwise their pets run the risk of being shot.