Taieri Mouth farmers have lost more than 40 sheep in the past three weeks, blaming the losses on runaway pig-hunting dogs.
Allan Gorton said he had lost 31 sheep to dog attacks, while a neighbour, John King, had lost "at least" 10 sheep.
"I went out one day and the sheep were all mobbed up and one had blood down its neck. Some people later said they'd seen two dogs - a ridgeback and a collie - chasing my neighbour's sheep.
"I go around every day with a rifle now. We're at the stage that if we see it, we'll shoot it."
Mr Gorton runs 2000 ewes and 500 hoggets, and breeds 2300 lambs each year on the 500ha property, which has been run by his family since 1958.
"Last year was the best year we've had since 1979," he said.
"I sent some lambs away a couple of days ago and got $141 for the rams and $131 for the ewes and wethers. So this really hurts us.
"What it comes down to is that a lot of pig hunters need to be more responsible owners. All the serious ones have GPS trackers on their dog collars so, if a dog goes missing on a hunt, they can find it.
"While the Clutha District Council had loaned a dog trap, "you'd be lucky to get a stray dog to wander into a dog trap", Mr Gorton said.
Clutha District Council dog control officer Allan Philip said lost pig dogs which had gone feral were a problem "right around New Zealand". He recalled a case in the Canterbury foothills when the army was called in after two dogs killed 800 sheep.
"Once they go bush, it's very hard to track them down. You've just got to be in the right place at the right time. I think those GPS collars are a great idea."
However, Allan Millar's Hunting and Fishing sales representative Grant Ashton said while there were "some excellent" GPS collars available for pig dogs for around $1000, they were illegal to use in New Zealand.
"As retailers, we'd love to be able to sell them, but they run on a frequency that's used by forestry workers. So people instead import them illegally."
