A Wiltshire Member of Parliament has been fined after his puppy caused a stampede of deer in Richmond Park.
Daniel Rayne Kruger, 46, of Hammersmith, London, admitted causing or permitting an animal to chase or worry another animal in a Royal Park.
This is an offence contrary to section 4(21) of the Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997.
Kruger, the son of celebrity chef Prue Leith, has been the Conservative MP for Devizes since December 2019. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday, 7th June 2021.
Dominic Hockley, prosecuting, outlined the circumstances: "On 20th March this year, Danny Kruger's white Jack Russell dog, Pebble, chased a large herd of fallow deer.
"It's been said it only takes one pebble to start an avalanche. In this case it only took one Pebble to start a stampede."
The court heard that PC Samantha Riggs saw Pebble running towards a heard of around 200 deer, many of which were pregnant at the time.
The presence of the dog caused the deer to get into a "panicked state". PC Riggs called out for the owner, who was "at that point, nowhere to be seen".
Video footage of the incident shows the MP repeatedly calling out for Pebble, before putting him on a lead.
Kruger, who had been walking with his family, was apologetic after the incident, telling the police: "I'm sorry, I had no idea, I didn't see the deer. Anyway, obviously he needs to be on a lead."
Jae Carwardine, mitigating, said Kruger's attention had been momentarily drawn towards his 7-year-old son, who was tired after walking for two hours.
"This was a brief lapse while juggling his responsibilities as a parent, quite understandable, but something Mr Kruger deeply regrets," she said.
"Of course, he will take much greater care in the future."
Ms Carwardine described Kruger as an "avid dog walker", while Pebble was said to be a "very friendly, good-natured family pet who interacts well with other animals".
"Mr Kruger takes dog training and dog obedience seriously. He has trained Pebble and he has been effective in that training," she said.
"He of course takes responsibility for the temporary loss of control of his dog."
District Judge Tan Ikram, the Deputy Chief Magistrate, told Kruger: "The video says it all really, doesn't it?
"You should have known better, especially in Richmond Park, where everyone knows there are wild deer.
"Your dog was not under control, he was able to frighten the deer and here you are in court today.
"The deer were clearly startled and frightened. It could have caused injury, fortunately it didn't."
Kruger was fined £120 and ordered to pay £34 victim surcharge and £575 towards prosecution costs.
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