Packs of stray dogs killing children and terrorizing town
NEW DELHI— A team of scientists in India is investigating why packs of stray dogs in villages near the north Indian town of Sitapur have mysteriously started killing children.
In just a week, six children between 5 and 12 years old were killed by strays, while more than two dozen others have been injured in attacks.
The attacks have terrorized the town and, according to local reports, school attendance has dropped, and villagers in the town say they believe the killer beasts are hyenas, not dogs. Vigilante dog-catching squads have started shooting and strangling animals, while local authorities have recruited police, municipal workers and a team of expert monkey catchers to apprehend the strays.
The World Wildlife Fund and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute have sent teams to figure out what has turned the dogs into child killers.
One of the recent deaths was of a 7-yearold girl named Gita who had gone to the field to pick mangoes. “They were biting the girl on her neck, thighs and stomach,” said local resident Ram Kripal to the In- dian Express. “They were even eating the meat while she was still alive. I am sure if we had reached 5-10 minutes later, we would not have even found the body,” he said.
In Sitapur, nobody seems to know quite why the dogs have started attacking children, though there are rumours that it all started after an illegal slaughterhouse in the area was closed down, leaving the dogs with no food.
Some of the more docile local dogs have been collared by concerned residents to prevent the dog-catchers from killing them.