HALIFAX COUNTY, N.C. — Goats are about as harmless a farm animal as you will find, which makes them an easy target for wild dogs. A number of recent attacks on goats in Halifax County has residents on alert.

Wild dogs killed 200 goats near Aurelian Springs this summer. Five more goats died on a farm near Roanoke Rapids this week.

"About four or five dogs came in here in the morning before we got to work. They killed one goat," animal owner Marshall Collier said.

Collier shot one of the dogs and scared the others off. However, the dogs came back the next day.

"They killed four of them (goats) the next morning," he said. "(They) didn't try to eat them, just killed them," he said.

Halifax County Animal Control officers set out a number of humane traps, but they said if the dogs are not hungry, they will not take the bait.

"It is hard to catch dogs that kill livestock. They are not after any food or bait. They are just after the thrill of the kill," said animal control officer Robert Richardson.

Halifax County Animal Control is asking farmers to keep an eye on their livestock and parents to keep an eye on their children.

"Small kids tend to look like small animals, so we do stress parents to be careful," Richardson said.

Collier said he will be armed and ready to shoot if the dogs come back again. After burying his goats, he vows to keep his minature donkeys safe. Halifax Animal Control said the dogs attack mainly at night or early morning before sunrise.