Stray dogs terrorising neighbourhood

Residents at San Pawl tat-Targa are hoping for the day when they can go for a walk without fear of being set upon by aggressive stray dogs.

A pack of about six dogs is making life miserable for everyone, according to one distraught resident, who said they were even killing pet cats on private property after jumping over the low boundary walls.

"We cannot go out for a walk without being hassled by barking dogs and being afraid we will be bitten," he said.

Residents are disappointed because although reports have been made to the council and the police, no action appears to have been taken so far.

The resident said that recently the dogs jumped over the boundary wall at the back of his villa and chased his 13-year-old pet cat. The poor old cat succeeded in eluding the dogs, only to die from exhaustion.

Another resident suspects that his cat was eaten by the dogs. He cannot be sure as he found no trace of it, but what he is certain of is that the rabbits he breeds in his garden have been killed by the pack.

In a letter to the council, a resident complained about the dogs which were "terrifying residents and their domestic pets and are tearing rubbish bags moments after residents take them out on the pavement to be collected".

He alleged that the dogs were being fed by people working in the area.

When contacted, the Naxxar council said it had referred the reports to the police for action.

Council secretary Paul Gatt said the Society for the Protection and Care of Animals could not round up the dogs if they were not requested to do so by the police.

A police spokesman said the Naxxar police were seeing what action should be taken to remove the nuisance.

The problem was also referred to Alfred Fenech from the Association of Abandoned Animals, which takes care of stray dogs.

Mr Fenech said that the dogs were "wild" and very elusive as he had tried to round them up on various occasions without success.

He also called for cooperation from other associations to catch them and give them a better life.

Leaving them roaming about on the street and on people's property, and killing their pets, could mean a sorry end for them, he said.