06-02-2025
Wick deer attack leads to first hunting with dogs sentencing
A man whose dog attacked and injured a deer has become the first person in Scotland to be convicted and sentenced under new hunting Chenier, 56, was using his golden lurcher for hare coursing - an illegal practice involving dogs chasing and killing hares - when it went after the deer near a cemetery in of the public tried to protect the severely injured deer, before Chenier appeared and killed the animal with a was prosecuted under the Hunting With Dogs Act (Scotland) Act, which came into force in 2023, and fined £750 and banned from owning a dog for five years.
Chenier pleaded guilty at Wick Sheriff Court.
Carcass found
The court heard that the incident happened near Olrig cemetery in March last being chased, the deer broke a front leg and was running on its knees when the dog caught up with it and was seen killing the deer and then putting it in the back of a later found the carcass hanging in an outbuilding at his analysis matched the deer's hair and bones with samples taken from the site of the lurcher's DNA was also found on the sentencing, Iain Batho, of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: "Whilst it was not Nickolas Chenier's intention for his dog to attack and injure a deer that day, this incident shows that using dogs to hunt wildlife can have additional serious and unforeseen consequences."
