South Yorkshire pet owners fight off eagle attack with walking stick

Now the RSPCA is warning pet owners to be on their guard after investigating this incident and another similar one.

The dog-owner, who did not want to be named, said the incident happend in a field known as the Crags, off High Street, in Barnburgh.

She said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. Its wing span was around one metre.

“It was too big to be a kestrel, it just kept coming and coming and had no fear.

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“It circled around and then just came swooping down. It got its talons into my little Jack Russell and picked her a good few inches off the ground.

“My partner started to hit its feet with her walking stick and it flew off.”

The dog walker added: “It circled and swooped down again, this time it didn’t lift the dog but it was trying to.

“We managed to get it off again and by this time we were running across the field, screaming with our dogs in our arms.

“It came again and was trying to lift her out of my arms—all we could do was whack it away.

“It then landed on the ground in front of us and eventually flew up into a tree.”

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA described the incident as an “unusual occurrence.”

She added: “We did receive a call about this and another incident and it was passed to one of our officers to look into, but we are now at a dead end.

“It’s thought we are talking about a buzzard or eagle and a variety of species are kept. Normal prey size for a buzzard would be a rabbit or perhaps hare, so this may indicate perhaps an eagle.

“This is a very unusual occurrence but owners of very small dogs who live in the immediate area should perhaps be aware.”

Anyone with any specific information is asked to call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 and ask to leave a message for John Gibson.

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