A woman has been killed by her own rooster after the animal attacked her while she was collecting eggs.
The elderly victim was in her pet’s coop before tragedy struck in southern Australia.
The bird punctured one of her varicose veins with its beak, before the victim bled to death.
Her name and age have been withheld to avoid further trauma to the family.
The shocking incident has since sparked a public warning about how “harmless animals” can still kill.
Adelaide University forensics expert Professor Roger Byard claims another elderly woman died overseas in a similar circumstances – after a cat scratched her leg.
Professor Byard, who has been studying deaths due to seemingly harmless animals, wants to help doctors in conducting post-mortem exams and to warn people about hidden dangers.
He told Adelaide Now: “Most importantly, I’m trying to get elderly people have varicose veins treated with a simple operation because they are especially vulnerable to being broken.
“It is not just to animal attack, because we have done studies that show people have just been around their homes and bled to death by knocking their leg and the vein on something.
“For example, cats are a very common tripping hazard for the elderly around the house that they may never think of.
“Cats like to rub against ankles and legs, as well as sit behind people and commonly lead to tripping injuries in the elderly.”
