Bird of prey snatches puppy from Lancashire garden

Pet owners in Nelson were warned to be on their guard this week after a young puppy was snatched from the garden of a house in Barkerhouse Road by a bird of prey.

The bird – as yet unidentifed, but with names such as a buzzard, eagle owl or harris hawk being suggested – swooped on the weeks-old dog earlier this week, but dropped it from a few feet off the ground, leaving it with a broken leg. It is thought that it may have been scared by the noise made by poultry also kept in the garden by the householder.

Veterinary examinations in Manchester revealed scratch marks on its back, consistent with it having been held in a bird’s talons, and residents living at the top end of Barkerhouse Road near the golf course have reported seeing the bird.

Eagle owls have been nesting in the Forest of Bowland for the last few years, and harris hawks are the most popular bird used in falconry in western Europe. The diet of all three suggested bird types includes small mammals.