“I screamed but I didn’t see or hear anyone”… A walker dog shot dead by hunter in Caramy Gorges

Christophe M. is cautious. An avid hiker, dressed in fluorescent clothing, he scours the department’s hiking trails every weekend. Sometimes alone, most often accompanied by Tya, a 13-month-old Beauceron female. But still geolocated thanks to a dedicated application.

On Saturday morning, the walker decides to cover ten kilometers in the Gorges du Caramy sector. “I had walked along the stream on the left, and I climbed. I always stayed on the marked path, Christopher says. At about 300 meters above sea level and after 2.5 kilometers of walking, I heard a huge explosion. My dog ​​was about fifteen meters from me. I couldn’t see her because the path made a bend. I called her, but she didn’t come back, as usual.”

A hunt underway in Mazaugues?

The hiker fears the worst. That’s right. He discovers Tya dying, hit by a projectile in the neck. “I screamed but I didn’t see or hear anyone” continues the unfortunate master. In shock, he calls friends for help to bring down the body of the beauceron, which weighs almost 30 kg.

It was then that he saw two wild boars passing nearby. Then a hound came to meet him. A Griffin or a Gascony Blue, “with a bell around his neck”. “I called out to warn that I was there, but again no one answered…”

Was there a search going on in the area? Christophe assures that he did not see any signs or ribbons on the path. “However, when I asked, I was told that it was possible that a search was taking place near Mazaugues around the same time.”

For his part, the chairman of the Var hunters’ branch association, Laurent Faudon, said Was-morning that he was not aware of this tragic history. “And if a hunting company had been the cause of this accident, I would have been informed.” Could a lone hunter be behind this shot? A poacher?

This incident at least mirrors what happened three weeks ago in the middle of the department. A dog had also been euthanized there (our edition of January 11). Its owner had even been threatened with life by the hunter.

To get answers, but also “so it will not happen again”Christophe lodged a complaint with the gendarmerie in Brignoles.