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Deer bucks the odds to escape French hunters

The images showed the panting deer, its tongue out of its mouth, collapsing on a stretch of asphalt next to a construction project outside the city of Compiegne on Saturday (September 19) , surrounded by hunting dogs, police and bystanders.

In images released by anti-hunting group AVA on Monday, environmentalists are seen chasing away the dogs, after which the panicked deer gets up, crashes into metal fencing and then escapes back into the woods.

AVA spokesman Stanislas Broniszewski said his group had been tracking a deer hunt on Saturday when they spotted the animal.

In July, AVA and other environmental organisations launched a bid to organise a national referendum to ban hunting with horses and hounds.

Hunting groups say the activity is legal and should not be interfered with.

"Hunting with hounds is about respect for nature, certainly not about these images, which are regrettable and which society today does not accept, which we understand. We are taking measures to make sure certain things evolve," French hound hunting association head Pierre de Roualle said on BFM TV.