– It is deeply tragic. It’s not often that I get angry, but in such cases I get really frustrated and angry.
This is what game warden, Bjørn Håvel Lønnum, in Viltnemda Oslo municipality says about the sight he met right by the ski slope in Maridalen in the far north of Oslo, on Tuesday this week.
Steinar Berntsen was on a walk in the southern part of Nordmarka on Monday, when he came across the macabre sight of two stray dogs eating a dead deer carcass.
– I thought I hope it’s not what I think it is, but it was. It was very bloody everywhere and the dogs did not look. You saw traces of blood all the way from the parking lot, Berntsen added Avisa Oslo, which first mentioned the case.
The Norwegian Environmental Agency has notified that they will report the matter. It is unknown who owns the dogs.
Extraordinary in several places
Due to a lot of snow in the forest, tired deer move down to more densely populated areas, where they are at greater risk of being attacked by, for example, dogs.
That is why ten municipalities, especially in Eastern Norway, have introduced extraordinary curfews on New Year’s this year.
Nevertheless, several deer have been killed and maimed by dogs.
– Accidents can happen
– Are dog owners too bad to respect or follow the leash regulations?
– The vast majority of them are very smart, careful and follow along well. Then you’ll always have someone who doesn’t. Then you can also have accidents where the dog gets loose without the owner being able to do anything about it.
Anne Livø Buvik, Norwegian Kennel Club communications advisor, answers that.
THE WAY OF NATURE: Anne Livø Buvik, communications advisor for the Norwegian Kennel Club, believes that it is not possible to completely prevent attacks on deer by dogs.
Photo: Private
– Dogs are predators
Although Buvik acknowledges that the images of the deer-eating dogs are ugly, she reminds us that this is how nature works in practice.
– Dogs are predators and it happens that deer are killed. Of course there are ugly pictures, but it is actually part of the nature we see in front of us, she says.
As the photos from the north country show two dogs in harnesses, Buvik believes that this is an accident and not a deliberate violation of the extraordinary leash restraint in Oslo.
– The vast majority of dog walkers are aware of which rules apply and would not let them go either. These are probably dogs that have run away from the herd and their owner, she says.
Encourages to follow the rules
Viltvakt Lønnum now asks those who have to travel in the forest with a dog, either on skis or on foot, to follow the current regulations. He demonstrates why in the knee-deep snow.
– They sink straight down and remain completely stuck. When a fast dog comes after them, the dogs are much better in the deep snow.
– The message is often “my dog doesn’t do that”, Lønnum says with a laugh.
The municipalities themselves govern
Generally, the national leash law, which regulates whether you must keep your dog on a leash, lasts from 1 April to 20 August.
According to the Norwegian Kennel Club, in extraordinary cases, such as this attack and the conditions in the forest, leashing can also be introduced outside this period. This is managed by the municipalities themselves.
