WAILUKU — Four sheep and a 280-pound goat were killed either by pet or feral dogs within a fenced area of the Maui Coastal Land Trust's Waihee Refuge earlier this week, refuge officials said.

In addition, 26 other sheep were injured in the attack Monday and three of those animals were euthanized because they were badly injured, said Jay Carpio, one of the owners of the herd of sheep.
The discovery of the dead or injured sheep comes after five to seven dead uau kani birds were found at the refuge around two weeks ago, said Scott Fisher, Maui Coastal Land Trust project manager at Waihee Refuge. The two attacks could be related, he said.
The birds, also known as wedge-tailed shearwaters, are found across the central Pacific as well as in Hawaii. But in Hawaii, their populations have been forced to offshore islands. The birds nest in shallow burrows in coastal dunes where they are vulnerable to attacks by dogs, cats, mongooses and rats.
This is the fifth year in a row that the refuge's entire population of uau kani has been killed, and this year, again, it's the work of dogs, Fisher said. Refuge officials found dog saliva on the dead birds and paw prints in the area.
Carpio said the attacks on sheep on Monday are a reminder that people need to control their dogs.
"People in the residential areas have to realize there is a leash law," he said. "They need to contain their pets."
Carpio said he was concerned about nearby residents, pointing out that if the dogs could kill a 280-pound goat, they can easily harm a child.
For years, refuge officials have been cautioning and warning people about allowing unleashed dogs near and on the refuge. The nonprofit land trust's Waihee coastal dunes and wetlands refuge conserves and protects the wetland, dune ecosystem, marine shoreline and other habitats for birds and vegetation.
"It's really disheartening to see these animals you care for for years - to see them come down and taken out," Fisher said.
He said Carpio and his wife, Maile, are working with the refuge and are allowing the sheep to graze on grass as a way to prevent wildfires on the 288-acre refuge.
The lost goats cost the Carpios about $5,500 in total, Jay Carpio said. One goat, a buck, was valued at $1,500 because it was to have been used for breeding.
The Carpios also have lost the breeding potential of the animals that were killed, he said. The animals could have produced offspring for another nine years, he added.
"It's a pyramid effect," he said.
Just a month and a half ago, six sheep were killed by dogs at the refuge, Jay Carpio added.
He said he was thankful that nearby residents notified him of the most recent dog attacks.
Witnesses saw four dogs easily slide through the refuge fencing, which includes barbed wire, he said. There also were reports of wild dogs roaming neighborhoods nearby.
Police said that officers received a call about the dog attacks on the goats from an animal control officer. But when officers responded, the dogs were already gone. Officers did go through a neighborhood to look for the dogs, and they documented a leash law violation case, police said.
Police said that if an officer determines that an animal is posing a danger to the public, he or she would take appropriate action, whether it is on public or private property. In this case, if the dogs were attacking the sheep upon their arrival, the officer would have taken action, police said.
Refuge officials were watching the herd to prevent more dog attacks on the sheep, officials said.
Dog attacks on the uau kani over the years have made it hard for the bird population to grow at the refuge because the birds that return to the area are young and more vulnerable to attacks by predators, Fisher said.
The area is difficult to fence in because the birds nest near some archaeological sites, he said.