A Tory MP has been fined after his pup caused a deer stampede by chasing a herd of 200 people in London.
Danny Kruger, David Cameron’s former speechwriter, has admitted losing control of his dog in Richmond Park, home to around 300 red deer and 300 fallow deer.
Kruger, 46, pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to pushing or allowing an animal to chase or worry another animal in a royal park.
Prosecutor Dominic Hockley said Kruger’s 11-month-old white Jack Russell dog Pebble hunted a large herd of deer in March.
“It has been said that it only takes a pebble to trigger an avalanche. In this case, it only took a pebble to trigger a stampede,” Mr Hockley said.
Danny Kruger MP pictured leaving Westminster Magistrates’ Court
The court heard that Kruger, who lives in Hammersmith, west London, had taken a long walk with his wife and three children on March 20, when PC Samantha Riggs spotted her dog crossing the road towards of a herd.
Mr Hockley said the animals, many of which were pregnant, remained in a “state of panic” while PC Riggs called on the owner, who was “at the time not found”, to check on the dog.
Volunteer ranger Duncan MacCallum said he asked Kruger to recall his pup, “which seemed to prompt him to act,” the court said.
In the stills filmed by Donald Milton, a member of the public, and the camera carried over the body of the officer, Kruger can be heard repeatedly shouting “Pebble” before putting his dog on a leash.
Kruger, the Member of Parliament for Devizes in Wiltshire since 2019, was reportedly ‘contrite and sorry’ over the incident, which lasted around 45 seconds, at the 2,500-acre site – London’s largest royal park.
He told police: “I’m sorry, I had no idea, I didn’t see the deer. Either way, it obviously needs to be kept on a leash.”
Jae Carwardine, defending, said “Kruger’s attention was momentarily distracted” because his …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-07 17:51:00
