The badly injured sheep were discovered last Thursday by Riverrun stock manager Alistair McLeod as he mustered a mob of 230 ewes at the farm, which borders the older residential part of Albert Town and the Cardrona River. They had been put on the property, which is leased by Dingleburn Station, about a week earlier, although Mr McLeod believed the attack had probably only happened in the past two or three days, based on the sheeps' injuries.
All 14 of the mauled animals initially survived, although one would have to be put down because it had a leg broken in the attack. Another of the more seriously injured animals had since gone missing and had probably wandered off somewhere to die, Mr McLeod said.
Two sheep had lost eyes, while the others had deep cuts and puncture wounds to their heads and legs. They were given antibiotics and checked by a vet.
"I thought I'd give them a chance to survive. They're limping and they're pretty sore still."
He has managed and owned farms in other areas but had never experienced problems with dogs bothering stock until he came to Wanaka.
"Here they just seem to roam everywhere ... the amount of dogs unattended, it's ridiculous," Mr McLeod said.
Senior Constable Mike Johnston, of Wanaka, said he was concerned about the problem and urged dog owners to be aware of their responsibility under the Dogs Act 1996 - to have their dog under control at all times and not allow them to wander free.
The Act stated any dog found running "at large" among stock or attacking animals could be seized or destroyed, he said.
Incidents similar to last week's dog attack happened every year in the Wanaka area and a police campaign would be launched at the end of winter around lambing time as a "proactive measure" to address the problem.
Police would carry out mailbox drops and visit properties on the "fringes of that rural urban boundary" where roaming dogs were likely to cause problems.
Snr Const Johnston said wandering dogs put farmers in a difficult position, as "the last thing they want to do is shoot a dog because they know the value of it".
Mr McLeod agreed it was unfortunate to have to take such action, but said he would have had no choice but to shoot the dog responsible for the latest incident if he had seen it. Late last year, a search and rescue dog from Wanaka was shot by Mr McLeod after it was found bothering stock.
"If any dogs are caught mauling sheep, they will be disposed of," he said.
An unidentified dog mauled six sheep near Jacks Point, Queenstown, last month.
