On Saturday, hunting crews crisscrossed the forests of the Oise and killed deer. Without judgement, there is nothing abnormal, the practice of venery being always authorized. However, in addition to denouncing what Nicolas Hulot described as “a practice from another era”, observers from the Ava association continue to point the finger at the “chaos” that surrounds hunting with hounds. And Saturday, in the forest of Droizelles, on the borders of Oise and Seine-et-Marne, it is the death of a deer which was not even targeted by the hunters that the militants deplore.
Above all, the activists of Ava (Abolisons la vénerie today) are calling for a ban on hunting with hounds because they consider this practice cruel. But by dint of traversing the forests to disturb and observe the hunts, they have found many other arguments to support their request. The one that comes up most often is the disturbance of public order caused by the riders, their pack and their followers: game and hunters crossing the roads, deer taking refuge in villages, even in private gardens, disruption of rail traffic…” This illustrates the chaos that hunting with hounds generates, the extreme panic that seizes the animals and proves the cruelty of this practice”, insists Ava.
“He killed himself”
On Saturday, therefore, two crews were hunting in the Droizelles forest, causing quite a stir in the woods. One deer in particular was the target of the hunters. In its escape, the animal was joined by two of its congeners. “Far ahead of the pack, all three flee. They cross the road, pass between the vehicles of followers to join a field on the other side of the road”, says Ava. Ava’s observers were trying to keep eye contact with the animals but realized that one of the deer was missing.
“He didn’t see the barbed wire and got caught in it. The speed of his running will have killed him outright, ”says Ava. The scene was filmed by activists, including the part where the deer was loaded into a vehicle of followers. “He killed himself, it has nothing to do with hunting,” said a follower. “A collateral victim”, deplores the association for its part.