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.

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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.

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