A 6-year-old German shepherd named Naiki was shot in the head during a hunting trip in Seine-et-Marne, France. During a hunt last Saturday on private land in Coutevroult, the shooter allegedly mistook the black-coated dog for a wild boar and fired. Its owner filed a complaint for “involuntary harm to the life of a domestic animal”.
An investigation has been opened.
Since the sad news, the owner’s son has not left his bed.
The father, named Sélami, said: “He is devastated. I bought the dog for him.”
He added: “The gendarmes informed us at the end of the morning.”
When contacted, a source close to the case confirmed that a complaint had been lodged with the Crécy-la-Chapelle gendarmerie after the hunters themselves informed police.
On the day of the horrific accident, the family home did not receive its usual hunting party warning and so did not lock up their dog.
But the devastate father fumed: “A dog does not look like a boar!”
That morning, a neighbour saw the hunters stroking the animal at around 11 o’clock.
“Half an hour later, Naiki was dead,” said Sylvie, his neighbour.
The gendarmes rang the bell at 11.30 am at the owners’ home.
They were taken to the lifeless body of Naiki, lying 800 metres from their house.
“We were in shock. He was a member of our family,” said Sélami, before letting his anger explode: “No hunter has contacted me to apologise.
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“The dog, which was roaming, was in the hunting area,” the same source added. The shooter was about twenty metres away from the animal.
The French Biodiversity Office (OFB) has approached investigators to determine the circumstances of the shooting.
“If it is indeed a hunter [editor’s note: a hunting licence holder], he will be punished in accordance with his fault,” said Bruno Mollot, director of the Seine-et-Marne hunters’ federation.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega
