NANTES, France -- A pitbull terrier and four Staffordshire bull terriers killed and tore apart an 86-year-old woman in western France, police said on Friday.
The attack happened on Thursday when the woman, on an afternoon walk in the village of Tonnay-Charente, was savaged by the five animals, who had escaped from their pen by digging a hole under a wire fence.The owners of the dogs, a 36-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son, have been placed in temporary custody, police said. They were not at home at the time of the attack.
Alarmed by the growing number of so-called attack dogs, especially in tough city suburbs, the French government last year introduced new legislation aimed at limiting their spread.
However, police said none of the five dogs, who were sent to a compound pending a decision on their fate, was tattooed, registered with the local authorities or sterilized as required by the law.