Hsia Liang-chou (
Ten goats were killed at the farm on Friday, followed by another 14 on Monday.
An Indonesian woman who was at the farm on Friday said she had watched in horror as a tiger killed the goats.
But Hsia, director of the animal husbandry and veterinary medicine division of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Pingtung County, and also the head of a home for stray dogs run by the university, said he was sure stray dogs were responsible.
Hsia said that it was not unusual for stray dogs to attack other animals. While released or escaped dogs could also become aggressive, second or third-generation strays are much more violent than those which were once pets, Hsia said.
He cited a case that occurred in Pingtung County years ago in which more than 10 mid-sized hogs and dozens of goats were killed by stray dogs in a single night. Hsia said the strays had killed at least one of their victims by attacking its neck and flinging it to the ground.
Dogs that kill other animals need not be large, the professor said, as they often attack in packs.
Hsia said it was easy to identify the species of an attacker from paw prints and bite wounds. If dogs were responsible for the attack on the goats in Linkou, there would be tooth marks left on the victim, he said, whereas if it was a tiger, there should also be lacerations caused by the creature's claws.
A second dog was caught in a trap at the Linkou goat farm yesterday, following the capture of a white stray the previous day.
However, neither of the captured strays' paws are big enough to have left the tracks found at the farm, Taipei County officials said.
They said they would continue to trap dogs until they captured some with paws matching the prints.
Meanwhile, US-based forensic scientist Henry Lee (
Lee made the suggestion in response to media inquiries during a visit to Changhua, where he was to deliver a speech to local police.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS