2024-01-12 21:17:22
A 4-year-old boy lost his life yesterday following being savagely attacked by one or more dogs in Salluit, a northern village in Nunavik.
It was a mother who alerted the authorities Thursday around noon when her boy was the victim of a dog attack outside her residence, explained to Journal Captain Patrice Abel, of the Nunavik Police Service (SPN).
The 4-year-old child was transported to the medical clinic of this Inuit village, where resuscitation maneuvers were carried out. However, he was pronounced dead on site.
“Everything was done to try to save him, but he had suffered serious injuries,” said Captain Abel.
Captain Patrice Abel of the Nunavik Police Department Photo taken from LinkedIn, Patrice Abel
A coroner’s investigation and another police investigation are underway to understand the causes and circumstances of this tragedy which affects the small community of around 1,480 souls.
SPN police officers will also try to find out whether an offense of criminal negligence was committed by the owner of the animal(s) involved in the attack. Several witnesses will have to be met.
Hundreds of dogs killed
Captain Patrice Abel explains that dog attacks are a real problem that has been going on for a while in the region.
The village of Puvirnituq, also located in Hudson Bay, also killed around 150 stray dogs during the holiday season, reported The newspaper. This is because in the space of a few days, several members of their community, including an 8-year-old girl, had been attacked.
“The story of this little boy is not an isolated case. Almost everywhere in the villages, people are worried and fear for their safety. A child in an indigenous community is 180 times more likely to be killed by a dog than in the south [du Québec]», Reports veterinarian Daphnée Veilleux-Lemieux on the line.
She is also president of Chiots nordiques, an organization that works voluntarily to control dog overpopulation within Indigenous communities.
A question of security
With the presence of packs, the extreme cold, the lack of food and the fact that the villages are located in a region endemic for rabies, there are many elements that create these risks, explains Daphnée Veilleux-Lemieux.
The village of Salluit, in Northern Quebec. Royalty-free photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
The absence of a government program that would offer veterinary services or animal population control puts community residents at risk, according to her.
“It’s not just a matter of animal welfare, but of public safety. People must be able to continue to walk safely in their own village,” she insists.
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