ALSATIAN DOGS

Taranaki Daily News, 29 August 1933, Page 2

ALSATIAN DOGS

FARMERS’ CONDEMNATION. NEW SOUTH WALES REMIT. The Farmers and Settlers’ Conference sitting in Sydney recently adopted by a majority of two votes a motion:— “That Alsatian dogs should be declared noxious animals in New South Wales.” The motion was submitted by Mr. A. J. Woods, of Parkes, on behalf of three branches of the association. He suggested as an addendum that police dogs should be excluded from the terms of the resolution, which, however, was adopted as printed on the agenda paper. The president of th® conference, Mr. E. Field, said he thought the motion was rather drastic. It certainly needed careful consideration. In order to make himself acquainted with Alsatian dogs, he had visited, in one of the suburbs, a police constable who had ten or twelve of. those animals in training for police work. One of those dogs could go into a public telephone box, take the receiver off, and bark into the telephone. One of the delegates whistled, amid a wave of laughter. Mr. Field: Well, that is a fact, anyway. (Laughter). He added that, personally, he did not think the conference should adopt a motion banning those dogs entirely. A WORD FOR THE ALSATIANS. A delegate: You have only to look at an Alsatian’s face to see that that dog is as near to a human being as possible. No matter what the Alsatian is capable of, it is quite enough for us to have mankind on earth without having Alsatians also (Laughter). Another delegate said He had an Alsatian that was perfectly docile. Mr. F. Dickson, of Morongla Creek, in the Cowra district, said that, although he had had an Alsatian bitch in the sheep yard, it would not attempt to bite the sheep. The “blue heeler” was a far more vicious dog than the Alsatian. One could do anything one liked with his Alsatian. The motion was adopted by 50 votes to 48. The Australian Graziers’ Federal Council has replied, through its secretary, to a report on Alsatian dogs supplied by the director of veterinary hygiene, Dr. Robertson, to the Prime Minister’s Department, which forwarded a copy of the report to the council with an expression of opinion that sterilisation or destruction of Alsatian dogs in Australia was a matter for State administration. “NOT THE ONLY SHEEP KILLERS.” The council, in its reply, said it was aware that the Alsatian was not the only sheep killer, and also that the domestic dog-dingo cross was the most destructive •to sheep, and the most difficult to trap or kill. Knowing these facts, Dr. Robertson did not consider there was any danger in adding to the list a dog renowned for its sagacity, strength and size. Photographs were frequently seen of Alsatian dogs climbing fences and walls twice the height of dog-proof fences, which would afford little protection to flocks against an Alsatian or Alsatian-dingo cross. A feature of the attacks by Alsatians upon sheep, which had apparently been overlooked by Dr. Robertson, it was stated, was the ferocity and savagery of the injuries inflicted* “In every case investigated in Victoria the Alsatian had attacked sheep on the forequarters, throat and head. This pointed to the fact that the Alsatian was an Instinctive killer. This method of killing was not a feature of attacks by other dogs.” The reply was accompanied by a sworn declaration in regard to the Alsatian crossing with the dingo.