There are still far to many people who believe in the myth, if a dog kills another animal its next victim is going to be a child.

To many peopel see dogs as cuddly toys, and have no idea of their basic instincts.

That said, if it where my chickens they killed I would not be happy.

The people at fault here are the dogs owners.. they allow the dogs to escape and roam, and knowing they live in a community where people can only see "killer dogs" , and be fed by hysteria, they need to be more responsible,

What good is a petition, surely the dog warden or a word from the local copper would be better suited... informing the owners to keep their dogs under control

We used to own a small holding and bred rare breed poultry, over the years every single one of our dogs have chased the chickens. Its something about the noise, the flapping and the stupid over reaction of the birds. Even my nans Lhasa couldnt resist them, dogs will be dogs and get excited by these kind of things. Why do you think so many toys are shaped like birds and make bird noises?

Kiska was never allowed off lead in the fields when the chickens were about because unlike the other breeds of dog we had she was smart enough and fast enough to catch them and kill them. This doesnt mean she would go on a killing spree if let loose in the school playing field! I think sometimes people forget that a dog still has a predators instincts and some animals just hit the radar as prey.

That said the owners should take better care to ensure the dogs dont roam but i hardly think this was the best way to go about it.

Crazy - sure the owners need to keep the dogs under control but there is a big step between dogs killing chickens and children

I see from the link, that the chickens lived next door to the dogs, its always possibly the chickens when onto their property? I know they said the dogs are always escaping, but I didnt see it say that the dogs were off their own property when this incident happened, plus its all alledged by the sound of it, who knows if they are responsible for all the deaths? even in towns there are foxes etc, so they must be in abundance in more rural areas?

Mo

Firstly the Sunday Mail (And the Daily Mail) will always exagerate the facts and quite often if they don't have the facts they'll just make them up

Secondly, it does seem like there's more to this than the loss of a few hens, it's more a breed thing as you have said.

Our Bara has had a few chickens around here, we pay the farmers involved about £6 a time (I think we've paid out £24 so far )

The chickens around here run around loose, on the roads, and into other peoples gardens, and of course they loose far more to foxes, because of bird flu they are all supposed to be keept securely but the farmers don't bother.

It's been more than two years since Bara had one so I think she's lost the hunting deisre now, hopefully

Akitas can be exercised off lead like any other dog. There is no law in this country regarding Akitas. I think that it's a case of the owners not having full control, the dogs have killed some chickens, as would a lot of breeds, and people are getting all het up because there is an Akita involved.

The way it's worded is awful. Describing the Akita as a 'fighting dog' just encourages people to panic. There is NO correlation between a dog hunting and killing chickens and attacking children.

This gets on my nerves big time!!!

I agree!! sounds like foxes to me!! Foxes kill for fun not just hunger and will happily kill a whole run of chickens without eating any!

LOL I remember going to see this Reike(sp) master, they lived in a loely home surrounded by large fields, etc, they had chickens, but at this particular time I didnt see them, I asked could our Willow have a run about in their enclosed feild, which they said was fine and they would love to see her running about, we let her off lead, then all of a sudden this bloody chicken got in the field, it was mayhem,this chicken set off, flapping its wings and making a funny noise this set our willow off and she gave chase, I ran after them screaming for her to leave it, and shouting at the chicken to fly lol didnt know they couldnt, anyway the chicken eventually ran into the house and the fella grabbed Willow who by this time had a few tail feathers in her mouth I have never seen willow move as quick, and glad the chicken managed to get away, the chicken owner even gave me some eggs to take home with me from the very same chicken apparently the reason it escaped so well was it had a lot of practice from the dogs and cats that lived on the premises? so it appears chickens will bring out the devil in many dogs.

Mo

i think the owners should definitely have more control of their dogs but i think the paper is terrible.

to describe an akita as an 'akita fighting dog' is absolutely shocking, and makes them sound like viscious dogs! i think it is ridiculous that people think, just coz a dog kills chickens and chases sheep that they will kill a child. and they havent said they have killed any sheep... just chickens...

i would be angry if my chickens got killed but i would blame the owners, not the dogs.

I agree completely!

The owners of the dogs should secure their property so the dogs can't get out - they're being completely irresponsible! I'm not only concerned about the chickens - but the dogs safety freely roaming like that.

I'm sure that the Daily Mail wouldn't have bothered printing it if two labs were involved...