GWP's are great

[doghound]

Tahr my reply was a bit tongue in cheek to highlight the danger of being too dogmatic (another pun) other great authorities such as Neils Sondergaard advocate Leash leash and leash.

If we are peeing up the wall of course, the guy I refered to in East Germany I hunted with, whos GWP were used loose, was Eric Honechers head forester and has probably seen more head of game shot and had to retrieve that most men can even imagine. Including almost all the top european Gold medal bears, boar and stags. He found that loose trailing his dogs made them very live game minded and they would sometimes "blink" a dead animal to pursue live game, so it has its problems.

I have also done a little reading since this post started and it would seem to me that the legislation and advise is advising that a dog brings you to a wounded beast or brings the animal to bay so that the hunter can "humanely dispatch". At no point does any of the industry best practice or guidlines indicate that a dog should touch a deer let alone pull it down and kill it.

I think that a dog killing the deer for you would possibly cross the boundary in the animal welfare legislation as it is not considered a humane dispatch method. A point of debate well worth considering.

 

[MarkH]

Hi Guys

OK Here we go

Hunting Act 2004

Flushing to gun for humane dispatch seems OK under schedule 1.

Killing wounded/injured animal intentionally with dog is not OK.

I presume if a single hound unintentionally kills a deer that is OK. Its all in the word 'intent'.

My dogs would not have a clue about going in they stay a safe distance away and report - "There it is dad now get on with it".

Mark

Mark

 

[doghound]

MarkH point taken, I am aware you have well trained dogs from your posts.

This post started with an account of dogs catching and killing a deer which was wounded. We are all glad that the animal in question was brought to book.

However I would be more hesitant to celibrate this as good practice, you are correct the Hunting with dogs act would not allow this neither would the Deer act as amended in by the RR(Deer) 2007 which says:

(3) For subsection (4), substitute—

“(4) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 4(1) or (2) above by reason of the use of any reasonable means for the purpose of killing any deer if he reasonably believes that the deer has been so seriously injured, otherwise than by his unlawful act, or is in such condition, that to kill it is an act of mercy.”.

(4) After subsection (4), insert—

“(4A) In subsection (4) above, “any reasonable means” means any method of killing a deer that can reasonably be expected to result in rapid loss of consciousness and death and which is appropriate in all the circumstances (including in particular what the deer is doing, its size, its distance from the closest position safely attainable by the person attempting to kill the deer and its position in relation to vegetative cover).”.

So as someone with experience of dogs with deer I would suggest we post advise on how to do it better next time.