dog stung to death

[nematode]

What?

Source - The Irish Times 22 June 2011

 

[greatbritishhoney]

And so it begins. The backlash.

 

[victor meldrew]

And so it begins. The backlash.

Ever watched the program 'Rogue Animals'?

Seemingly all types of animals including humans ,exhibit the 'Red Mist' syndrome

John Wilkinson

 

[moby]

Hope my neighbour dosn't see this.....

 

[Busybee123]

They must have some REALLY mean bees in Derry!

All I can say is thank goodness it was the dog and not the young child that was attacked.

My young cat used to have a habit of bounding up to the beehives and sticking his nose in the entrance. He has since learned his lesson.....

 

[biglongdarren]

i always said northern ireland women were feisty!

 

[johncorne]

That is some swarm..."the size of a two seater couch" - unless it was a leprechaun seat!

Jc

 

[Teemore]

A wee terrier came across to say hello when I and a friend were doing a quick inspection on Monday night. Strangely it didn't hang around for long, in fact it didn't get to within a metre of the hive before it was greeted by a few bees... I reckon it ran off almost as quickly as a scalded cat!!

 

[Skyhook]

Jesus! how horrible.

Has anyone got any serious insights as to what might have triggered it? I assume africanized bees haven't reached Ireland?

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Queen gets caught in dog's fur perhaps?

 

[user 6228]

Jesus! how horrible.

Has anyone got any serious insights as to what might have triggered it? I assume africanized bees haven't reached Ireland?

A dog that has to be tied up to prevent it going after ducks is not under control i.e. it chases and bites things and is unlikely to behave quietly if a quantity of bees is on the move. The dog attacks one of the bees and like picking a fight with a soldier in a bar in Aldershot or Caterick, the inevitable happens.

The dog is dead because of poor training. IMHO Its the dog owners fault.

 

[madasafish]

 

[Beezy]

Poor little dog, that's horrendous. Personally, I'd never have left the dog behind - it would only take one adult to take the child safely home and the other could have grabbed the dog straight away and maybe saved him.

 

[Busybee123]

Whoever you blame for it, it is a horrible thing to have happened, and it certainly won't do anything to improve the relationship between beekeepers and their non-beekeeping neighbours.

I'm sure there's more to it than simply "nasty bees attack and kill dog". I wonder what made so many attack? But I suppose that's really not the point here. If we're not careful we'll end up with the situation that we won't be able to keep bees in built up areas or close to neighbours property (or on allotments as these bees were), which would be a real shame because 99.99% of the time the bees will not cause a problem. We as beekeepers really don't want our hobby to be perceived as a danger to children, small animals and the general public!

The only solution is education. If you see a beehive, DO NOT APPROACH IT, unless you are suitable trained and wearing the right gear!

Would warning signs help?

But I think the point has been made that if you put a warning sign up then you are admitting that your bees may be a danger to others.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Whoever you blame for it, it is a horrible thing to have happened, and it certainly won't do anything to improve the relationship between beekeepers and their non-beekeeping neighbours.

I'm sure there's more to it than simply "nasty bees attack and kill dog". I wonder what made so many attack? But I suppose that's really not the point here. If we're not careful we'll end up with the situation that we won't be able to keep bees in built up areas or close to neighbours property (or on allotments as these bees were), which would be a real shame because 99.99% of the time the bees will not cause a problem. We as beekeepers really don't want our hobby to be perceived as a danger to children, small animals and the general public!

The only solution is education. If you see a beehive, DO NOT APPROACH IT, unless you are suitable trained and wearing the right gear!

Would warning signs help?

But I think the point has been made that if you put a warning sign up then you are admitting that your bees may be a danger to others.

100%

In the clamour to entice new people into beekeeping, some have been guilty of portraying bees as cuddly, harmless insects that can be kept by the back door with complete safety. In actual fact they can be dangerous, and it does us no favours pretending otherwise.
As I have said before, the Press are fickle - a story like this can quickly replace the "beekeepers are eco-heroes" stories that we have had for the last few years.
As for the cause of the incident - I agree that a terrier that needs tying up to stop it chasing things probably triggered this attack (if the story is to be believed) itself to a certain extent.

 

[Skyhook]

A dog that has to be tied up to prevent it going after ducks is not under control i.e. it chases and bites things and is unlikely to behave quietly if a quantity of bees is on the move. The dog attacks one of the bees and like picking a fight with a soldier in a bar in Aldershot or Caterick, the inevitable happens.

The dog is dead because of poor training. IMHO Its the dog owners fault.

Not good enough. If the dog had knocked the hive over I could understand, but it was at a distance from the hive. If it snapped at a bee and got stung on the lip fair enough, but for the entire colony to attack? That's not right. Are we assuming this was a swarm, or was it an attack from one of the hives? Either way I don't think many people would think of the dog in that situation as at risk, including experienced beekeepers. Blaming the owner is a) cruel and b) fatuous.

Supposing an elderly or disabled plot-holder had accidentally squashed a bee, was attacked and couldn't get away quickly enough? Would they be to blame for their own death?

 

[greatbritishhoney]

One thing everyone is assuming here is that the story is correct.

 

[viridens]

Greatbritishhoney, I agree. If true,

A wee terrier came across to say hello when I and a friend were doing a quick inspection on Monday night. Strangely it didn't hang around for long, in fact it didn't get to within a metre of the hive before it was greeted by a few bees... I reckon it ran off almost as quickly as a scalded cat!!

The key fact in this tradegy is that the Irish spaniel was tied up (only yards from the family home, not much in the way of walkies). Otherwise, even the most pea-brained dog would beat a retreat after a sting or two, like Teemore's terrier above.
This dog was prevented from getting away, and the situation escalated until humans felt threatened too.

A very strange story...Has anyone else here ever known a swarm to take the trouble to stop en route to attack a target?

P.S. 700 stings? - Not 699 or 701?

 

[nottingham]

That's clearly what you call the "Luck of the Irish" a swarm as big as a 2 seater sofa. I only wish I could find swarms that big, unless the Irish have found a way of breading Cocker spaniel's that are the size of 2 seater sofa's lol

 

[DanBee]

I thought the Irish all claimed to have those lovely docile Apis mellifera mellifera bees...?