Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wild dogs mutilating, killing cattle in Valencia County - video

Wild dogs are plaguing New Mexico ranchers, forcing them to take drastic action. One rancher in Valencia County near Meadow Lake and El Cerro Mission said he and his ranch hands have been forced to kill more than 300 dogs in the past 18 months in an effort to save their cattle. "We’ve had such a problem with the dogs that we lost 26 head of cattle to the dogs," said ranch hand Ed Chavez. Feral dogs target calves or weak or aging cattle. Chavez said unlike coyotes that kill for food, these feral dogs are hunting for sport. He said the dogs take down a cow and chew on its ears, nose, and hoofs. Once the cow dies, the dogs leave it alone. The cows that survive are worth less in market with chewed up body parts. A cow is worth $800 to $1,000 in market according to Chavez. Ranchers said they are tired of losing profits to the feral dogs. State law gives ranchers the legal right to shoot dogs that endanger their livestock. "To this day, anytime I have to dispatch a dog, I don't enjoy it,” Chavez said. “I know this is someone's pet, however, I'm not upset at the animal…I'm upset at the owner."...more

1 comment:

Tick said...

Too bad the feral dawgs won't kill the feral hawgs. Funny but I'll bet the guvmint will step in and start helping with the dawg problem way before they start with the feral illegals.