2ND FEBRUARY 2018 BY KNA
Chicken farmers in Ugunja sub county, Siaya County are up in arms against the rising number of stray dogs that have been attacking their birds.
Led by Fredrick Ochieng Olalo, the farmers lamented that they have been losing the chicken to the dogs mostly in the morning hours when the birds left their pens.
Speaking to the media in Ugunja town, the farmers said the attacks have increased in the last three months despite lodging complains with the local veterinary officials. “In the past three months, I have lost 21 mature hens,” he said, adding that early this week, he had to fight one of the dogs that had snatched his mature cockerel.
The farmers said unless quick action was taken to tame the dogs, an outbreak of rabies was imminent in the area as nobody knew where some of the dogs that invaded their homes came from. Olalo at the same time called on dog owners to ensure they took proper care of their canines instead of leaving them roaming aimlessly, causing harm to the public.
He said that they would soon mobilize the public to poison all the roaming dogs in the area if their owners failed to tame them.