March 18, 2009
Wild dogs on the attack in Italy
Italian police are hunting a pack of stray dogs which killed a boy aged 10 and mauled a 24-year-old woman in the Ragusa area of southern Sicily.From the BBC. Dogs are formidable predators. I recall reading about African wild dogs' hunting habits, which are apparently not just highly effective but also notably savage.They caught about 30 strays after the boy was dragged off his bicycle and killed on Sunday but about 20 dogs are believed still to be running wild. . .
It is an offence to kill a dog in Italy and the country lacks properly funded pounds in which to collect strays.
Posted by David on March 18, 2009 8:26 AM
Dogs can be fierce predators and individual dog behavior can chage dramatically in a pack. The order of the pack is determined by the relationships of the animals to each other, and not the dogs to any potential prey, including humans. The numbers of attacks in the U.S. remains high especially as the stresses on the economy lead to increases of violence and theft, and people do what they have done historically, get a mean dog, especially if local laws make the purchase of a firearm difficult.
Posted by: Donald Wolberg on March 18, 2009 3:35 PM
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