A DOG owner has been ordered to keep his pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier under control, following an attack on a group of defenceless alpacas.

Anthony Hughes, of Woodlands Road, was told to muzzle his dog Sid in public, as part of an order granted by Southampton Magistrates Court this week.

The civil order, which will last for the dog’s life, means 60-year-old Hughes will also have to keep his dog on a lead while in public.

It follows an attack on a group of alpacas at Petlake Farm, Barley, in December last year.

The attack resulted in the eventual death of the farm’s alpha male, Oberon, and a £14,000 vet bill for the treatment of two other alpacas.

Owner of Petlake Farm, Susan Sears, said: “After the attack it was absolutely awful.

“My daughter couldn’t sleep for days.

“She wanted us to pack up and move away.

“Oberon was our alpha male and was six-years-old so we were expecting him to have another 10 years of babies from him.

“The other two alpacas were really shook up by the attack and they’ve never been the same since.”

Mrs Sears, who has more than 100 alpacas at the farm, added: “I’m relieved that the police now have the power to act if this happens again.

“I hope the dog will be kept safe and under control.”

Although Mr Hughes accepted no responsibility for the death of the alpacas in court, he did accept that his dog was allowed to run free in the vicinity of the animals.

For this, the police chased a civil dog control order, on behalf of Petlake Farm.

Inspector Lou Hubble from Hampshire Constabulary’s Country Watch team said: “Because alpacas are not classed as livestock, we were not able to pursue a criminal case.

“However because of the impact this type of attack has, we felt it important to bring about a civil action.

“We will continue to protect our rural communities.

“This outcome should send a warning to any owners who allow their dogs to be unsupervised or out of control around animals of any description.”