Stray dogs blamed for killing herd of gazelles in UAE village

Thirteen Arabian sand gazelles were found with dog bite injuries

Stray dogs are thought to have killed 13 gazelles in Ras Al Khaimah last week. The National 

Stray dogs have mauled a herd of gazelles to death in a fenced-off farm in the Northern Emirates.

Thirteen Arabian sand gazelles were found dead at the property in Ras Al Khaimah.

Farmer Ali Al Mazroui said construction workers had been keeping and feeding the dogs, which became ravenous after they stopped.

“The attack happened around 4am and we don’t know how the wild dogs managed to enter the farm,” said Mr Al Mazroui, 50.

“I was very upset, we couldn’t do anything to save them."

Arabian sand gazelle, also called reem gazelle, are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The species can be found in the wild in small, isolated populations in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and south-eastern Turkey. Small numbers may still be in the wild in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.

Mr Al Mazroui bought two gazelles four years ago to raise them at his farm in Wadi Kub.

“Four of them were pregnant and three were only two months old," he said.

“It took me raise them and take care of them and now they are gone."

Mr Al Mazroui said he owned about 20 sheep and 20 goats, all raised at the farm.

“I love to take care of animals and these were my babies,” he said.

Although remote - Wadi Kub is about 40km south of Ras Al Khaimah City - he urged authorities to catch or cull stray dogs found around farms or in residential areas.

“Many workers at construction companies and quarries around the area feed the dogs," Mr Al Mazroui said.

“And when they stop feeding them they go out to search for another food source and that is why they attacked the herd,” he said of the incident last Thursday.

Another resident of Wadi Kub said the attacks were relatively commonplace.

“Dogs attacks happen almost every year,” said Saif Al Mazroui, 40. “Last year I lost four of my sheep after dogs attacked them.

He said if workers took in strays then they should not be allowed to later throw them out onto the street.

“Such attacks bring financial loss and should be controlled,” said Mr Al Mazroui