A VICIOUS attack has left three alpacas dead and four wounded after two dogs broke into a family farm near Brinkworth and mauled the defenceless animals.

Dave Taylor, 62, owner of Farmtastic in Grittenham, has been left devastated on the third occasion dogs have got into his pens and set upon his livestock.

After finding the dogs in mid- attack early on Sunday morning, Mr Taylor asked a friend to grab his gun and the two dogs were shot dead. Two of the £7,500 alpacas were dead by the time Mr Taylor could save them, with another so badly injured she had to be put down.

Mr Taylor who runs the farm with partner Lizzie, said:“In the morning at around 9am I got up to do the feeding as normal and headed across the barn. Lizzie saw something down the drive and it turned out to be one of the alpacas. We thought it was odd because she had been fenced up that night.

“I went down to fetch her and heard a shout. The alpaca was going nuts. We had to push her up the drive and we couldn’t understand why she was playing up. We managed to get her back to the pen and that’s when we saw the others.

“We thought they were just lying in the sun, but two were dead. The dogs were chewing on the back end of one, so my friend had to go and get his gun and shot two of them.”

Dave had to clamber into the pen with the dogs in an attempt to save his alpacas.

“The dogs are malamutes, which are basically a wolf crossed with a husky,” he said. “We had to get into the pen with them which frightened me to death. We had to shoot them. Those dogs can jump over a 6ft fence.

“One of the girls killed cost £7,500, and we will not be able to breed from the others again.

“The ones who survived have come back from the vets, and they are still shocked and very quiet. One was ripped from the underneath so we don’t know if she will be able to breed again. Another had their head bitten and had to be stitched.”

A police spokesman said: “This incident has been tasked to the local neighbourhood police team to investigate.”