Calls for hunting ban in France after pregnant woman killed by dogs while on forest stroll
French hunters are facing calls for a blanket ban this season after a pregnant woman was killed by dogs while a hunt with hounds was taking place nearby.
The body of Elisa Pilsarki, 29, who was walking her own dogs, was discovered on a path in the forest of Retz near the town of Villers-Cotterêts, northeast of Paris.
She died after "several dog bites to the upper and lower limbs and the head," said local prosecutor Frederic Trinh.
Police are conducting tests on 93 dogs in an attempt to establish which of the dogs were behind the attack.
The woman, who was six months pregnant, was walking with five of her own dogs when the attack took place.
An autopsy showed that the victim suffered dog bites to the head, torso and arms before and after death. Police said they had opened a manslaughter investigation.
“No line of inquiry has been ruled out at this stage,” said the prosecutor, including the possibility she was attacked by stray dogs. “Numerous technical investigations will help determine the origin of the bites.”
Ms Pilarski's partner Christophe, who was at work at the time, recounted how she had contacted him after taking out their dogs for a walk to say she was "worried as there were lots of dogs".
"It took me 45 minutes to get there," he told BFMTV. "I looked for her, I saw her four-wheel drive. I came across some hunting dogs, a rider as well," he said.
"I called Curtis (one of their dogs) and he gave me a warning bark. When I looked down into the precipice, the ravine, I saw around 30 dogs coming towards me so I pulled back," he said without specifying whether the dogs were ones taking part in a local deer hunt.
Finally, he managed to approach Ms Pilarski who was not moving, had no clothes and had been "partially devoured".
He rushed to neighbours and phoned the police.
Brigitte Bardot, the former actress who is president of an animal welfare foundation, called on French authorities to immediately suspend "all hunt authorisation for this season" after the "shocking" death.
The French hunting association said in a statement that there was no evidence of "the involvement of hunting hounds in the death of this woman”.
It said that there were 30,000 hunting dogs in France in 390 companies. “These dogs are trained to hunt a particular animal and obey man in all circumstances,” it said.
