POISONING DOGS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16744, 28 December 1914, Page 5

POISONING DOGS.

THIRTY CASES AT NEW BRIGHTON. A mild sensation has been caused at New Brighton by the indiscriminate poisoning of dogs, and, t>o far, it.is estimated that about thirty Lave been destroyed. Over a month ago the first dog was discovered dead, and since then owners everywhere have had to bemoan the loss of a household pet or a good gun-dog. A reporter of the " Lytfcelton Times," investigating the matter, discovered nineteen owners who had lost dog 3 by poisoning during the raids. In one instance an owner had lost three. One couple in New Brighton lost a dog Avhich had been a companion to them for many years. He was quiet and inoffensive, and his loss reduced both the owner and his wife to tears. Another man lost a valuable gun-dog, and a third, a medical man, saved his dog by sheer skill. The traces discovered so far show that strychnine has been used. One resident found in his backyard a piece of meat with the poison placed in pockets. He is the owner of a dog and realised quickly what this unwelcome j gift was meant for. A more dangerous practice is that of leaving moat with strychnine in it on the roads. , There are many children playing about New Brighton, and if they handled the meat the poison might get on their j fingers. Quite recently a man was handed a piece of brown paper by a child. The man examined the paper and found poison on it dusted over some mincemeat. . It is stated that the poisoner would reed a fair amount of strychnine to accomplish his work so effectually, and it is considered that there should he no great, difficulty in tracing him if the Sale of Poisons laws are complied with. j ' l