Dog attacks on sheep are most likely to be caused by individual pets let off the leash while on walks in the countryside. But in early December, a drive hunt in Ellange went badly wrong when a pack of hunting dogs attacked a flock of sheep in a meadow, in an incident which could have easily been avoided through improved communication.
Please note that the images in this article are graphic in nature and depict injured animals.
By law, drive hunts with more than 12 participants must be reported to the Nature and Forest Agency and the municipality in which the hunt is scheduled to take place. The Mondorf-les-Bains mayor’s office said this had been the case for this particular hunt, which was to take place across three municipalities. However, after 8 December, the message confirming the hunt was removed from the council noticeboard by an automatic process.
The sheep’s owner, Adela Fuentes of the animal protection charity Amiavy, said she did not see the notice and therefore did not realise a hunt was taking place, and now blames herself for the incident.
The following day, Fuentes found her sheep with grievous injuries, and set about finding out whose dogs were responsible. One of the hunters confirmed that several dogs participating in the hunt had been in the area and then moved on to a neighbouring hunting lodge, but that no one had checked if anything had occurred. The hunting master expressed regret at the situation in a conversation with RTL. Fuentes, however, refused financial compensation, saying it would not change anything about what had happened to her animals.
Marianne Jacobs, hunting officer at the Nature and Forest Agency, commented that such incidents usually go unreported. The law on hunting with hounds, and municipal regulations, say that dogs are permitted to run freely during a hunt, but that hunters should be able to control their hounds beyond the rules.
Hunters must be able to keep dogs under control, meaning their hounds must be able to follow verbal instructions. There is training available for both hunters and their dogs. In addition to the registration requirement for drive hunts, in order to allow the event to be posted on municipal noticeboards and Geoportail, hunters are encouraged to communicate with owners of farm animals in the hunting area.
Minister of Agriculture, Martine Hansen, who is in charge of animal protection, advocates for better communication around hunts.
In this instance, six out of the seven affected sheep survived, although one could still lose an eye. Another sheep, which came into Fuentes’ care with just three legs after previous abuse, lost an ear to the attack by the hounds, while another was unfortunately put to sleep due to severe wounds inflicted by the dogs.
