A devastated mum-of-three saw her pet rhea left dripping with blood after it was savagely attacked by two dogs as four men in camouflage cheered on the attack with sick chants urging the brutes to “kill it”.
Lucy Keegan’s big bird, which resembles an ostrich, miraculously survived the gruesome mauling after it was raced to the vet.
The 40-year-old, who was alerted to the chaos after she heard loud noises in her garden as she left to pick her kids up from school, says the horrid incident was traumatising.
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(Image: Jam Press)
Brave Lucy managed to scare the men off after she ran outside to confront them, before they sped off in a Vauxhall Astra van following the cruel attack in the village of Shelf, near Halifax, West Yorkshire on Wednesday (30 November).
Farmer Lucy, who lives with husband Danny and their kids, explained: “I heard shouting but thought nothing of it as the dog walking area can be noisy and saw four men and a white Astra van parked on the road at the side of our field.
(Image: Jam Press Vid)
“I was confronted by men in our field and two lurcher-type dogs chasing the rheas. They were shouting ‘kill it, kill it, kill it’ and their dogs attacked the male as it was sleeping.
“There was blood everywhere. It was horrendous and I was just screaming at them to get off our land.”
The incident was caught on CCTV and cops have launched an urgent probe to find the yobs responsible.
(Image: Jam Press)
Her rheas, which were brought in to stop foxes attacking her hens, roam free in the field by her home and are popular with locals and visitors who come to see them.
Lucy added: “There’s no doubt these men came here to kill the rheas. It wasn’t to get meat or eggs, they wanted to kill them for the hell of it.
“As a farmer I know there’s life and then there’s death, but why try to kill beautiful creatures just for fun, just for a laugh? They’re sick and need to be caught.”
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