Sorry JB but it's a huge difference - hounds on 'hunt' have been trained, psyched up and unleashed to hunt and kill.

Most pet dogs have not.

And I would argue that yes, it's the human's fault as they trained and set-up the dog to do so. Just like if someone had trained their dog to do PP and set it to attack a person.

The owners of that dog should have been prosecuted - just like anyone else would have.

Spot on..... but you will never get the "hunt pros" to agree...... they think it is perfectly acceptable for hounds to rip an innocent animal to pieces

the killing of the cat was a direct result of humans encouraging dogs to hunt together in a pack to rip an animal apart for sport. The humans may not have killed the cat, but sure as eggs are eggs, they are totally responsible for it

If they had been hunting legally they would have been drag hunting, hunting rabbits/rats & have just 2 dogs.

If they were not hunting then they must have been"exercising"the pack & the pack got out of control which should mean they thay are liable for prosecution under the DDA for having dogs out of control in a public place.

Instead they have been told try not to let it happen again & the owners of the cat-tough it was only a cat !

Packs do not just go after cats they go after dogs & if any go missing I know several shepherds who have lost sheep to an errant pack member(caught in the act !)as well as people with Rabbits/Cavvies/Guinea Pigs in pens outside-the police are only interested in the sheep, of course, as they don't consider small furries as being worth their time/money & they like to blame the deaths on foxes

They were fox hunting - which is legal in Ireland, unfortunately

No but surely as Brierly says these dogs should now be under an order to be leashed at least if not muzzled and yeah right I can see the hunt doing that - not. If that order was given the dogs would soon be despatched.

Exactly

Are you saying they should be outside the law re having dogs under control because they are fox hounds?

Why were they out of control - and why are they then immune from the law? It is illegal to have your dog out of control - simples

That is just unbelievable! But as usual it appears some people are above the law. I can just imagine how that would go down with most people on here if I said I took my dogs out warned everyone that they would be out of control and off lead but then some irresponsible person allowed their cat out!

Excellent post!

I absolutely hate how the huntsmen usually get away with having a pack of dogs out of control, yet a pet owner wouldn't get away with it so easily!

Also, these dogs go out all hyped up to kill... it is no wonder they attack and kill animals that they are not intended to kill. The vast majority of pet dogs do not go out in the same hyped up state!

I do wonder how they can make aware home owners that they will be hunting in their area.

Hunts cover a vast area and surely they would not go knocking on doors and if no owner in post a note through the door.

We were away at the weekend, but walking the dogs on Monday down the track by our our house was alot of horse dung. Obviously the hunt had been down there.

Last year driving home we saw a lone foxhound and passed the hunt several miles later. We pulled over the huntsman and told him we had seen one of the hounds. He was extremely rude and answered it will find it way back

Im not so sure Jackie, did you watch the video and see her high fencing? The hounds were hyped up and out to kill their prey. It was a pack of dogs, albeit (thankfully) not all of them, that were mauling the cat. I think the owner might had stood a better chance of saving her cat if it had been just the one dog

I have known plent of huntsmen and their hounds and have been out hunting many a time. For the majority of the time they have a higher degree of control of their pack than many 'normal' dog owners do.
These incidents are in the minority, thankfully.