Luyat Michel / (38) Isère / Animal de compagnie tué / blessé / Marcher, Promenade de chien / 26.12.2007

Name: LUYAT Michel
Âge: 77 ans
Address: (38) Isère
Date: 26.12.2007
Incident: Pet killed / injured
Activity: Walking, Dog walking

The day after Christmas, on a beautiful sunny day, I walked with my dog Noisette on a nice snowshoe track near my village of Prelenfrey. Arriving at a pass in the forest, at the crossroads of two broad forest roads, my dog was about fifteen meters in front of me when I heard a very loud bang. Noisette was motionless in the middle of the crossroads. At first I thought she was scared and was waiting, but in reality she had just been shot by a hunting rifle. The hunter was 18 meters away from her and had not seen me yet. I was totally crushed with grief and I cried. The hunter came near us, repeating "I'm sorry sir." I was unable to react against him I was in so much shock.

As a result of this dreadful tragedy, I lodged a complaint with the nearest police station, (Vif) the gendarmes were kind enough to go with me on the scene to ascertain the facts because the blood in the snow was well visible as well as the steps of the hunter down below at the moment of the shot. This complaint unfortunately did not do much because the case was tried by a local judge who, alone in his office, decided to hand out a derisory fine of 150 € but no withdrawal of the hunting license ...

The hunter never admitted to having shot intentionally while obviously there could be confusion when one knows that it was only 18 m in perfectly clear ground and in good weather. Lying is one of the main features in this troubled world of hunting.

This is the result of the irresponsible behaviour of a hunter. My wife and I cried for many days, our lovely dog who was so full of life and loved to run in the snow. Her life stopped there when she was 10 years old ... and we still mourn her today, 10 years later!

NOISETTE WE WILL NOT FORGET YOU.