449 animals lost over the past 5 years at Sépaq
Éric St-Gelais’ group was able to find their moose thanks to the search services of Chantal Bellemare and her faithful companion. It happened last October in the Matane reserve. (Photo SÉPAQ)
“Once hunters have known the services of a blood dog and its handler, they cannot do without it.”
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Blood dogs quickly became indispensable partners in the successful conclusion of a hunting excursion.
Over the past five years, blood dogs from the network of SÉPAQ’s 13 wildlife reserves have found 449 stray animals.
If the assistance of the blood dogs had not been called upon to find a mortally wounded moose, the hunter generally continues to search for another large game. When you find a moose or a dying deer, the hunt ends immediately. And other big game are thus spared.
The previous statement of the blood dog handler, Luc Desjardins, during an interview with “Rendez-Vous Nature”, followed shortly after the charge of a moose he had suffered, while he was in full search of the big game injured. It happened in October 2019 on the Zec Bas-Saint-Laurent, during the moose bow and crossbow hunting season.
“Damn, call us”
Over the years following the founding of the Association of Quebec Blood Dog Drivers (ACCSQ) in 2008, more and more enthusiasts are following in the footsteps of their co-founders, Chantal Bellemare and Yves Martineau, with training courses. required and appropriate.
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Today, there are some 150 blood chines conductors who share the regions of Quebec. On its site, the ACCSQ publishes their names and telephone numbers during the big game hunting seasons.
Territories under organized management; wildlife reserves, zecs and outfitters quickly understood the importance of offering blood dog services to their customers.
“A game found is a protected forest … Damn it, call us”, continues to hammer the co-founder and ex-president of the ACCSQ, Chantal Bellemare.
449 moose lost and found
SÉPAQ, whose network of 13 wildlife reserves is renowned for the high success rate of moose hunting, also quickly seized on Ms. Bellemare’s message.
In recent years, blood dog services have even been part of the service offering on SÉPAQ reserves, and are offered free of charge to facilitate the search for targeted and not found game.
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The ACCSQ recalls that a dog trained to track injured large game is specialized in following the trail of game that gives off an odor of injury, whether there is blood or not.
Luc Desjardins also explained the importance for sport hunters of big game, to have total confidence in all the qualities of “tracker” of the blood dog, by insisting on the importance, for the hunters, of not touching anything on the places of the shot and the projectile. This is very important in order not to confuse the scene of the shooting, and the clues, until the arrival on site of the driver and his canine search companion.
Bottom photo
Co-founder and former president of the Association des Conducteurs de Chiens de Sang du Québec, Chantal Bellemare was part of the research team for the 2020 hunting season in the Matane wildlife reserve. (Photo SÉPAQ)
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