DONEGAL farmers who have lost 500 sheep to two killer dogs" since last November want Army helicopters with heat seeking devices and snipers to hunt down the animals.
The demand for more resources to be given to the hunt came yesterday when it emerged that a marksman from Northern Ireland, brought in to kill the animals at the weekend had failed.
The 10,000 acres around Glencolumcille and Carrick where the dogs have been killing were cleared so the marksman could spend the weekend hunting the animals.
The expert shot and killed a wolf that had escaped from a Fermanagh farm last year.
However, it emerged yesterday that he had not made contact with the dogs which killed another 10 sheep over the weekend.
Mr Christopher O'Connor, the Irish Farmers' Association representative in the area, said farmers who have already lost more than £30,000 worth of stock to the dogs want the army and Air Corps brought in.
"The area where the search is being concentrated is very hilly, and there is a lot of cover including 2,000 acres of forestry. It is virtually impossible to spot the dogs," he said.
"We are asking the gardai to invite the Army and Air Corps to come in and stop the slaughter of the sheep as lambing time approaches. Farmers' livelihoods are being destroyed by the dogs."
Mr O'Connor said that local farmers had been canvassing their political representatives to get action to have the dogs captured and killed because of the enormous damage they are inflicting.
"Apart from the fact that the farmers around the area are on low income and rely on their sheep for a living, there is the danger that the two dogs will be joined by others and the level of killing may increase," he said.
The Army cannot move into the area until requested by the Garda, and Mr O'Connor said he was hopeful this request would be made shortly.