a hunted and killed deer in the middle of town in the Oise

Desperately fleeing a hunt in the forest, a deer threw itself into the Oise at Pont-Sainte-Maxence. Passers-by tried to come between the deer and the pack of dogs, in vain. The animal was finally shot by hunters, about ten meters from the city center. “They said ‘get down, we’ll shoot'”says a fisherman, witness of the scene. “In the way, there are always children walking, cycling, running. It’s dangerous”he adds.

In the city, residents say they are worried. And for the mayor of the municipality, Arnaud Dumontier, this is one incident too many after a similar story in 2018. The elected official then issued an order to prohibit hunting within 300 meters of homes. He therefore decided to file a complaint against the hunting team. “What did I feel? Fucking the mouth”, he berates. For their part, the hunters in question claim to have respected the law. “The only problem is that we were not in his town. We have the authorization of the mayor”, assures Bertrand Souplet, crew master of the Three Forests Rally. The debate on hunting with hounds is revived.