An urban school farm in Salt City Lake City, Utah has been attacked again by a canine, this time killing two of their baby alpacas. Roots Charter High School Director Tyler Bastian believes one stray dog is to blame for the incident.
The alpacas had been purchased to help protect the sheep on the farm, but the animals were too young to defend themselves.
In June, two dogs attacked the school farm, killing two goats, two sheep, and several chickens. Bastian estimates the school has lost $3,000 between the two attacks.
The animals at Roots Charter farm are student owned. Each student has a loan for the animal and they use their own time and money to care for the animals until they are sold.
A GoFundMe was started after the first attack to replace all student animals, cover vet costs incurred by the school for the injured animals, and purchase herd protecting animals to keep other livestock safe. After so much support, the school decided to set a stretch goal of $10,000 to secure and improve the pasture.
Following the latest attack, the school said: “As a school community, we are devastated by all the losses but this one hits us extra hard as we start the new school year. These animals are an integral part of our program and as this problem persists we only begin to feel the long-term effects.”
So far over $6,700 has been raised.
