COIMBATORE: A suspected dog attack claimed the lives of 44 goats across Erode and Coimbatore districts in a single night on Sunday, inflicting heavy financial loss to farmers.
At Gnanipalayam near Vellode in Erode, a pack of stray dogs entered the shed of Palanisamy, a farmer and attacked the goats at night. “He took the goats for grazing during the day and tied them in the shed near his house in the evening before retiring for the night. The ferocious attack left 16 goats dead and over 15 others severely injured,” said police.
The incident came to light on Monday morning, when Palanisamy discovered the carcasses inside the shed and alerted authorities. A team, including Village Administrative Officer Tamilarasi, Revenue Inspector Sathyabama and a veterinarian, arrived and inspected the spot. The Vellode police have registered a case, and an inquiry is underway. Farmers urged the state government to take stringent measures to control the stray dog menace and compensate the farmers for the loss.
In another incident, 28 goats were mauled to death in a suspected stray dog attack in a farm at Pollachi near Coimbatore. Police said Thangavel, a resident of Pethappampatti in Tirupur, was rearing the goats at the farm owned by Sabari Raj.
On hearing some unusual sound at night, some farmers staying there checked out and were shocked to find several goats dead. Even though the farmers raised doubts of a leopard attack, a team of forest department staff led by K Gnanabalamurugan, Forest Range Officer, Pollachi, examined the spot and ruled out the possibility of a leopard.
“The footprints in the area do not appear to be a leopard. We are investigating the possibility of stray dogs involved in the attack,” said an official. The forest department has installed four surveillance cameras and deployed a five-member team to prevent similar attacks.