TWO dogs believed to have savaged emus, wallabies, deer and goats in early morning killing sprees in Clay Hill have been seized by police.

A German Shepherd and Jack Russell, which were reported by animal breeder Gordon Elliott for attacking emus, a stag deer, wallabies and reindeer on his farm over a two month period, were seized by police dog handlers and an RSPCA Chief Inspector and put into kennels in the Whitewebbs area on Tuesday.

The dogs’ new owner has been given a type of dog ‘ASBO’, or acceptable behaviour contract, only the second of its kind in the country to be issued. The owner must comply with several conditions, including keeping them muzzled and on a lead at all times in public.

Police said they are still investigating the allegations made by Mr Elliott, gathering forensic evidence and photographs.

Mr Elliott hopes to press charges after several of his animals were killed or savaged.

He said that two emus were killed and another, which had survived three attacks, pulled its feathers out over stress. The throat of a stag deer was also ripped out and a baby wallaby and its mother also died of shock. Mr Elliott also called the fire service to rescue a terrified reindeer which had waded into to the middle of a lake.

Another Clay Hill resident, Tim Harris, said that two goats he had reared from babies had also been savaged in March. One was dead when he found it and the other had to be put down.

He said: “There was blood up the walls, it was like a scene from a horror movie. One of them died in my arms, she had been torn all over and had her back legs bitten.”

Mr Elliott said police had been unable to get a warrant for the seizure of the dogs on the basis of the animal attacks alone but had been able to seize them on the grounds that he had himself felt in danger of attack.

Mr Elliott, who had planned to shoot them on sight if he saw them again, said: “I am so relieved now that they are not coming back again. I showed the police officer pictures of the mutilated animals and asked him if he’d ever seen photographs like it, he said no. I think the RSPCA were pretty devastated by the photographs as well.”

Mr Elliott, who had been moved to tears after three successive early morning attacks on his farm earlier this month, said he thought the dogs should now be put down.

He said: “I am not anti-dogs at all, but I think once a dog does that it’s in their blood. If those muzzles ever come off they will just go back to that. For this, and all that devastation they caused, they should be put down.”