Pregnant cows attacked by pit bulls, says B.C. farmer

A pregnant dairy cow had to be put down and two others were seriously injured, after being attacked by a pair of pit bulls, a farmer in the Fraser Valley has told CBC News.

Dairy farmer Hans Schmitt, who lives near Mission, B.C., went to check on his three pregnant cows last week, only to discover the walls of the barn smeared with blood.

Schmitt said one cow was so deeply bitten on her tongue that she couldn't eat and had to be euthanized by a vet.

"There were just teeth marks on the neck, on the head, on the ears," said Schmidt.

Paw prints led Schmitt to suspect a neighbour's pit bulls, and when he visited the house, he saw blood on one of the dogs.

When questioned by CBC News on Monday, someone living at the house said that dog had been put down.

Nevertheless, Schmitt is frustrated nothing official can be done, since there are not yet animal control bylaws in the rural area outside Mission.

"I don't understand why someone has to have something like that. We've got grandkids around here too," he said.

The Fraser Valley Regional District is now considering a bylaw to control aggressive dogs outside city limits, after another group of pit bulls attacked some teenagers near Chilliwack, B.C. in September.

However, past proposals have been voted down, in part because it costs so much to provide animal control in rural areas.