- Do YOU know the duck strangler? Email lettice.bromovsky@mailonline.co.uk
Hundreds of amateur sleuths have joined the hunt to find the dog walker who strangled a viscountess’ beloved pet duck Quackers on her country estate.
Last week Julie Montagu or formally the Viscountess Hinchingbrooke’s announced that her 10-year-old white Indian runner duck had been attacked by a small brown and white terrier at Mapperton House in Dorset.
Following the incident – which was witnessed by a gardener – the female dog owner allegedly picked up the bird and brutally strangled the animal before tossing its body into the long grass.
The 50-year-old influencer recounted the shocking event to her 190,000 Instagram followers, and was quickly inundated with over 2000 messages and emails from people wanting to help find the perpetrator.
Julie Montagu, also known as Viscountess Hinchingbrooke had her 10-year-old Indian runner duck attacked by a terrier in the grounds of Mapperton House in Dorset last week
Hundreds of amateur sleuths have joined the hunt to avenge the murder of the beloved pet duck Quackers who was strangled on a country estate last week (left)
She added that she has not yet gone to the police or the RSPCA, although she could have under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, but has instead pleaded for the dog walker to come forward to ‘apologise and [offer] an explanation’.
Speaking to the Times she said: ‘It must be somebody local because, number one, they weren’t going to the house and garden as a visitor. She’s clearly coming here on a dog walk.
‘It’s amazing what this has brought up, all these people trying to find out who the duck strangler is. We’ve probably been sent a handful of names so far. It’s a work in progress. I think give it a couple more days, and I don’t know, I feel pretty good about this.’
All that is known of the woman is that she was aged in her 30s or 40s and was with a young child and a brown and white terrier-type dog.
Judging by the ruthless way she dispatched Quackers after she had been attacked by the dog, she is believed to be someone from the countryside, possibly with shooting experience.
Lady Montagu, who was born in Sugar Grove, Illinois, runs a popular YouTube channel called ‘American Viscountess’ which documents her life on the estate, and now boasts over 223,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Her husband Luke is the eldest son of the Earl of Sandwich and their country estate is home to gardens, a café, a wild play area and a self-guided safari.
She added: ‘We’ve had people suggesting dogs within the area that have been aggressive terriers, and you know, could this be the one? If we get a photo of the woman and the dog through we can show that to the gardener who saw her, and hopefully we can identify her.
The viscountess has since started a GoFundMe page to raise £20,000 for a new wetland habitat to attract wild ducks in Quackers’s memory
‘There was obviously some part of her that just thought, well crikey, I’m not going to come clean with this, and so I’m going to throw it in the long grass.’
There are signs around the estate reminding the 15,000 annual visitors to keep their dogs on leads.
The viscountess has since started a GoFundMe page to raise £20,000 for a new wetland habitat to attract wild ducks in Quackers’s memory.
Mapperton House has 1,900 acres of grounds which has cattle, chickens and ducks among its animals. It has recently been conducting a rewilding project.
Quackers has since been buried in the garden.
