Greece - watch out for the dog packs?

[mercalia]

"A British woman who died in northern Greece after apparently being mauled by a pack of stray dogs may have been attacked by wolves, a coroner has said"

"It is thought she tried to walk back along a coastal path when she was attacked by dogs. Her body was found on Friday."

"Ms Hollingworth's body was found near Maroneia in northern Greece "

well thats some thing to think about when cycling there?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-41398013

[Bogawski]

I think all stray dogs should be culled once or twice a year, they serve no purpose. My family were on Holiday in southern Spain about 15 years ago and if I had a gun I would have shot the lot. I was reduced to selecting suitable stones during the day for throwing during the night, they were that bad I was thinking about poison. They are so interbred they all look the same. If they were in a pack I wouldn't like to face them, (get up a tree). I saw a documentary about Greece a couple of years ago and I think most of the country dwellers have rifles, pity they didn't use them more often.

[simonhill]

Reports now say that it was wolves.

[Bogawski]

Can't see it being a pack of wolves but can see a pack of dogs.

[Bonefishblues]

Estimated population is only 700 for the whole of Greece, so if it was, she was very very unlucky. Would they be found on a beach though?

[Bonefishblues]

There are a million stray dogs in Greece, it's estimated. As a dog lover I have some sympathy with the need to cull, as I do with other approaches such as yours.

[meic]

It will be hard and costly enough to shoot the dogs, remembering that Greece is in a rather deep long depression right now, I dont think they will feel like paying for vets to do a million catch and neuters.
Also I dont imagine that a million neutered dogs are any safer than a million fertile dogs, it is only a long term solution but leaves a large short term problem still in place.

[ossie]

Yet people don't routinely get eaten alive by dogs in Greece or anywhere else so lets slot 'em all.

[robert32asp]

If this is the story I am thinking it is, it wasn't dogs, it was a pack of wolves.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/27/greek-coroner-british-hiker-attacked-devoured-by-wolves/

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A missing British hiker whose dismembered, fleshless remains were found in the hills of northern Greece was probably attacked by wolves while walking alone on a remote path, then torn apart and devoured, a Greek coroner said after an autopsy Wednesday.

Coroner Nikos Kifnidis told the Associated Press that both the woman’s thigh bones had been cracked open by bites and large sections of her body are still missing. He said a veterinarian at Wednesday’s autopsy in the town of Komotini confirmed that no dog or jackal could have administered such bites.

The remains — mostly bare, gnawed bones — were discovered Saturday near the village of Petrota, 180 miles east of the city of Thessaloniki.

Near them, authorities found a passport for Celia Lois Hollingworth, 63, whom the British embassy in Athens reported missing in the area Friday. The woman’s brother in England had raised the alarm with British authorities, reportedly telling them she had phoned to say she was being attacked by dogs.

[KTHSullivan]

May I suggest the following, (attached link)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velo-dog

KTHS

[robert32asp]

Not only might you have a bit of a problem getting a license for one of those (let alone find one to buy), you would also have to likely make your own ammunition for that caliber.

[Cunobelin]

If it hadn't been for the call, I would have gone with an accident and the Wolves treating the body as a food source

[Cunobelin]

May I suggest the following, (attached link)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velo-dog

KTHS

Slightly OT, but the merits of "carrying" and the best gun for cyclists is a not infrequent subject on some US cycling forums

It is discussed teh same way that we would discuss tyres of brakes

[mercalia]

If this is the story I am thinking it is, it wasn't dogs, it was a pack of wolves.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/27/greek-coroner-british-hiker-attacked-devoured-by-wolves/

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A missing British hiker whose dismembered, fleshless remains were found in the hills of northern Greece was probably attacked by wolves while walking alone on a remote path, then torn apart and devoured, a Greek coroner said after an autopsy Wednesday.

Coroner Nikos Kifnidis told the Associated Press that both the woman’s thigh bones had been cracked open by bites and large sections of her body are still missing. He said a veterinarian at Wednesday’s autopsy in the town of Komotini confirmed that no dog or jackal could have administered such bites.

The remains — mostly bare, gnawed bones — were discovered Saturday near the village of Petrota, 180 miles east of the city of Thessaloniki.

Near them, authorities found a passport for Celia Lois Hollingworth, 63, whom the British embassy in Athens reported missing in the area Friday. The woman’s brother in England had raised the alarm with British authorities, reportedly telling them she had phoned to say she was being attacked by dogs.

thats a horrible elaboration of what happened, but could happen to any cyclist there off the beaten track maybe wild camping? will those wolves now have a taste for human flesh and regard humans as fair and easy game? chilling. No mention in the story what the authorities intend to do , eg hunt down the wolf pack and kill them?

[Si]

Calls to cull or neuter Greek dogs......prompts a question about the nature of touring. If going to 'exotic' locations to sample the different culture and places should we not be looking to sample the whole shooting match, warts and all? Is asking other countries to sanitise themselves for our convenience really in the spirit of touring?

Of course, that's not to say that we shouldnt be for any move to improve the lives of people in any country, but that's a humanitarian rather than cycle touring issue ( as father ted would have said)..