It took ages in history eradicating dangerous animals from human settlements. Bears, wolves, wild cats etc were and still are fought out of existence. The other diverse 'wildlife' gets squeezed out of a habitat and the monoculture of the human and their baggage takes its place. The dog in its so called domesticated form has been included in the 'human family' with all the benefits of that species (Medical care, rights, beauticians, sitters etc). There is serious money and emotional investment in pets. It is still a mystery how societies tolerate the destructive outcomes of dogs un-leashed.The following arbitrary list emphasises the folly of excluding biodiversity and boosting 'pet' species. The gray wolf seems to have re-entered our domesticated space via 'the dog' (Canis lupus familiaris) off leash or gone feral:
Attacks on children:
Twenty-two-month-old Kara Compton suffered 100 bite wounds from the family's pet dog when it climbed onto her bed mauling her. The toddler passed away. Bunyip, Victoria, news.com.au 01092010
"A 10-year-old girl whose jaw was broken in two places by a pair of Rottweilers.." while riding her bike telegraph.co.uk 31082010
A "11-month-old boy was crawling on the floor when the family's pet terrier set on him. He was left with deep cuts and puncture wounds to his mouth, nose, lip and forehead." abc 23082010
Five children" were at a birthday party ... when a bull terrier broke free from a house on the same street.The children were taken to hospital with two suffering serious injuries." abc 10082010
"A two-year-old girl suffered facial injuries when she was knocked down and mauled by a dog in the hallway of her home in at Delahey" abc 230809
"A girl also suffered facial injuries after(she) was mauled by a rottweiler in McElroy Street at Sunshine West" abc 230809
"A five-month-old baby was mauled to death in Leicester yesterday by two rottweilers who were left guarding the families pub." the sun.con.uk 250906
Attacks on adults:
The NSW Dog Attack Register shows that 666 attacks occurred in the first quarter of 2010, up from 470 in the previous quart smh 16012009
"A 90-year-old man was bitten on the thigh by a neighbour's dog and then suffered head injuries when he fell off his bike." abc 23032010
"A roaming pack of wild dogs mauled a couple in rural Georgia to death...The pack of 16 dogs first attacked Sherry Schweder, 66, a retired librarian, while she was out for a stroll over the weekend near her home in the town of Lexington, Georgia, leaving her body severely mutilated." abc 200809
Attacks on domestic stock:
Warning! offensive images! Feral.org.au
The Western Australian government is making available $5 million to employ eight additional doggers to manage out of control dogs attacking stock. abc 14092010
Allowed to go feral:
Domestic feral dogs in large, disorganised packs are roaming SE Australia. "They attack just for the sport of it. They're not out just to kill for food." abc 03092010
"An increase in the severity of wild dog attacks on farm animals in the Bundaberg region...It could be only a short space of time before we have an attack on either a child or another human being" abc 13092010
Dog dumping Moscow style: 84 dogs per square mile. Financial Times 16012010
''Cave Canem'' (Beware of Dog) more unwanted dogs in Pompeii News Discovery 171109
Quotes:
“Dogs are the only naturally occurring models of psychiatric disorders.” Nature 2010
"Each year more than 100,000 Australians are attacked by dogs... Dog attacks alone result in more than 2,000 hospital admissions every year. The Australian Companion Animal Council: Most of the dogs that attack humans belong to the victim's family or friends." abc 08042010
Image:
Macke, August: In the Garden: Elisabeth and Walterchen with Wolf, 1911 via Zeno
