Three stray dogs killed six flamingo and severely injured another one in Seac Pai Van Park on Wednesday, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, the flamingo zone is fenced off but the stray dogs living in the nearby mountain area were able to barge in and attack the flamingos. When an IAM security guard patrolled the flamingo zone on Wednesday morning, he or she found three stray dogs in the zone and tried to catch them but failed. The caretakers of the flamingos immediately arrived at the scene after the guard alerted them, the statement added, and both the caretakers and security discovered seven badly injured flamingos.
The statement noted that five of the flamingos were killed at the scene, while the other two flamingos’ backs and wings were bitten, adding that the bites pierced through their bones and they were in serious conditions. The statement pointed out that one of the severely injured flamingos died yesterday morning, and the other one was still in critical condition. The statement underlined that there are still 11 flamingos in the park which were not injured.
After the incident, the bureau said that its officials found a hole in the wire fence, adding that as stray animals are usually more aggressive, the bureau said it believed that they entered the park through the hole and attacked the flamingos.
The statement pointed out that stray dogs often enter the parks so there are workers patrolling the area every day. After the incident, the statement said, the bureau officials have increased the number of people patrolling the area to avoid incidents as the one on Wednesday from occurring again.
The bureau urged residents to be responsible pet owners and not to abandon pets as they could endanger other animals.
This photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) yesterday shows a severely injured flamingo lying on the ground on Wednesday.
This photo shows one of the dead flamingos floating in a pond of Seac Pai Van Park on Wednesday.
