Cruel goat deaths prompt search for random attackers

Despite a like for hunting, Clarke Danvers can't abide animal cruelty.
So when he was attracted out on to his balcony late yesterday afternoon by what he thought was a human scream, the Napier Hill resident was disturbed to see a goat being attacked by a dog just off Main St.
"I heard this really deep primal scream," he said. "I've heard goats squeal before but it was nothing like that."
As he was 300 metres away, with no direct access to the scene, he let out a series of sheep whistles which caused the dog to stop the attack.
But when it resumed its assault, Mr Danvers got in his car and raced down the hill.
When he got there, the dog was latched to the goat's already severely damaged shoulder.
Having rushed out of his house, he suddenly realised he was in bare feet, but didn't hesitate to take action.
"I kicked it as hard as I could in the guts ... just kicked the hell out of it."
A Mexican stand-off then ensued, Mr Danvers holding the ground between the goat and the dog, a white-grey staffordshire bull terrier or similar breed.
"I stood there for a couple of minutes between the dog and the goat," he said.
"Its eyes were wide open, bloodshot - it was in a state of frenzy.
"All of a sudden, it took off up the bank."
Joined by a neighbour, they tried to follow it up the gully. But then they were confronted with a second shocking sight, another dead goat with three crossbow arrows embedded in it lying at the bottom of the steep bank.
Within minutes, two policewomen and a City of Napier Animal Control dog ranger were on the scene to assist and the injured goat was destroyed.
Mr Danvers said as a hunter, he had killed goats, but "I certainly don't like seeing that".
It was not clear if the incidents were related, as no other person had been sighted in the area at the time.
It did appear, however, that the goat killed by the crossbow had not been dead for long.
The dog ranger said he was concerned it "could have died in pain, although an arrow behind its neck hopefully broke its spine".
Animal Control team leader Steve Turpin said three dogs which could match the description had been identified and the offending animal would be destroyed if it could be "positively" identified.
Only last month, they had investigated another reported dog attack on a goat but had found no evidence.
The crossbow killing was now a police matter and Sergeant Wendy Wright said they want to hear from anyone who may have seen a person with a crossbow in the hill area.
"We do not want someone going around shooting a crossbow near a residential area," she said.
More than a dozen wild goats were recently moved out to Waimarama from the bush area, the Hill having had nearly a century-old association with the animal.
But today just one remained. With the offenders on the loose, local residents were concerned for its safety.