Police issue 'dogs on leads' plea after red setter causes death of Richmond Park deer

Watch: Dog owner fined after pet causes deer death

Police have issued a plea to dog owners to keep their animals on leads following the death of a deer in Richmond Park after it was attacked by a red setter.

Horrifying footage shows the dog attacking the frightened deer as passers-by attempt to form a barrier around the wounded female to protect her.

The dog, named Alfie, was seen biting the deer and aggressively barking before witnesses arrived on the scene and flagged down a passing police car and contacted park staff.

Despite the efforts of passers-by to get between the two animals, witnesses described the attack as “relentless”, leaving the deer with deep hind wounds and her tail practically detached.

The deer also suffered a broken leg after being hit by a car in her attempts to get away.

She was later put down by a gamekeeper due to her significant injuries after being found collapsed among ferns.

The dog’s owner Franck Hiribarne, 44, was told to pay £602 after pleading guilty to one charge of permitting a dog of which he was in charge of to chase, worry or injure an animal.

The Metropolitan Police released distressing footage of the attack, caught on a cyclist’s helmet cam, with the title “Keep 50 metres away from deer”.

Hiribarne, a marketing businessman from Kingston-on-Thames, told magistrates he had been training his young puppy in Richmond Park, south-west London, in October last year when the pet started chasing a deer.

The dog was allowed to run loose – despite signs telling visitors to put their dogs on leads, the court heard.

He said he lost sight of the dog as it raced after the wild animal.

Read more: Dog walker sparks police hunt after mistaking potato for 'human toe'

But when he caught up, he found his dog surrounded by a group of men, along with a stopped car and the bleeding deer lying on the ground.

Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard how the deer had to be put down because of its injuries.

Hiribarne said: “I pleaded guilty to permitting the dog to chase the deer. My dog is not a dangerous dog. He has never been aggressive to a human being or any animal.

“I was genuinely shocked and sorry for what had happened and since then I have refrained completely from letting Alfie off the leash in any park.

“I have also taken a special dog trainer specialised in gun dogs to control more accurately any of his hunting instincts. He has made great progress.”

Read more: Dog owner charged after deer mauled to death in Royal Park

"I am sorry this happened and I’m sorry for the deer because the injury meant that it had to be put down."

Chairman of the Bench Jane Borne ordered Hiribarne to pay a total of £602, made up of a £133 fine, reduced from the maximum £200 because of his guilty plea, £350 compensation to The Royal Parks, costs of £85, and a victim surcharge of £34.

Borne said: "We are pleased to hear that your dog Alfie has been undergoing training and that while walking you are keeping an eye on him.”

Richmond Park manager Simon Richards, said in a statement that park staff had put up signs telling dog owners to walk their pets outside the park, or put them on leads, during rutting season between September and November, when male deer compete for females and can be aggressive.

He said: "The deer in Richmond park are wild and unpredictable.

"The Royal Park has signs that clearly state dogs must be on leads and kept under control and all times.

“Sadly, this was the fourth deer that died over the last year as a result of dog chases in Bushy and Richmond parks.

Read more: Rutting stag crashes Into side of car in London park

"We’ve had 58 incidents of dogs chasing deer reported to us since March 2020, and it’s completely unacceptable. It’s imperative that owners ensure their dogs are under control at all times."

On 30 December, David Reay, 69, from Kingston, pleaded guilty to allowing his dog to attack and kill a fallow deer in Richmond Park on 12 September, 2020.

He was fined £135 and ordered to pay £350 compensation to Richmond Park as well as £34 victim surcharge costs and £85 costs to to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Police say attacks on deer have surged during lockdown as pet owners take to the park in droves to walk their dogs.

Sergeant Pete Sturgess, from the Metropolitan Police’s Royal Parks Command Unit, said: “If you do not know how your dog will react around the deer, or you know they will chase them, then please respect the wildlife by keeping them under control on a lead, or choose an outside space other than Richmond or Bushy Parks to walk off lead.”

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo News UK