No place for killer dogs in society

YET another child, a 3-year-old, was savagely mauled to death by two pit bull terriers in Phomolong in the Free State on Sunday morning.

Last week a boy, also from the Free State, was fatally bitten by a pit bull at his home in Vista Park, near Bloemfontein.

As the public outcry to ban pit bulls gains momentum, the government last week met breeders, its first move to determine what lies behind a series of vicious attacks that have stunned the nation.

We hope this is not another talk shop that our leaders have seemingly mastered… talk, talk, talk … and no action.

It is believed that it was the killing of a police dog that led police to shoot and kill hundreds of students during the Soweto uprisings on June 16, 1976.

We were raised to believe that a dog is man’s best friend. That seems to have changed. Dog lovers vow that dogs have been known to die to save their masters.

They say a dog might even die of grief after his master has died. A dog is a true, faithful man’s best friend, they say.

But recent interactions between dogs and human beings have been unfriendly with deadly repercussions.

Domesticated animals, particularly dogs, have provided companionship, labour, recreation, and entertainment for human beings. But this interaction has always not been free of conflict.

Alarming statistics reported across the world have shown that dog attacks today represent a health hazard with prevention strategies not always successful.

Most dogs involved in these events are usually known to the victim or belonged to the person.

A dog’s bite is vicious and painful with devastating consequences.

Dogs are inclined to drag their prey down and then maul them. A marauding dog attempts to disable the victim by targeting the limbs; once the victim is down, the animal usually bites the throat, neck or cranium, and if the attack continues death will finally result from asphyxiation, exsanguination (blood loss) or a fractured cranium and its complication.

For a victim, it must be an atrocious and painful death. The sooner these beasts are permanently removed from our society, the better.