Viscountess’s horror as female dog walker strangles her beloved pet duck Quackers to death on country estate

A viscountess has been left horrified after her beloved pet duck was strangled to death by a female dog walker. 

Quackers, a white runner duck who was over 10 years old, was attacked by a terrier dog on the grounds of Mapperton House in Dorset. 

Julie Montagu, 50, owned Quackers along with two other pet ducks. The birds are a popular tourist attraction at the country estate. 

A gardener who witnessed the incident reported seeing the dog drop the duck before its owner picked it up by its neck.

She was then seen to strangle Quackers before throwing her lifeless body into long grass.

Lady Montagu, whose husband Luke is the eldest son of the Earl of Sandwich, said: ‘This is an absolutely shocking and appalling incident. ‘We have had Quackers for 10 years and he was one of the most popular animals on the estate’

Quackers (pictured left), a white runner duck who was over 10 years old, was attacked by a terrier dog on the grounds of Mapperton House in Dorset

The woman, who had ignored signs to keep her dog on a lead, then left the estate without informing any member of staff of the incident.

Lady Montagu, whose husband Luke is the eldest son of the Earl of Sandwich, said: ‘This is an absolutely shocking and appalling incident.

‘We have had Quackers for 10 years and he was one of the most popular animals on the estate.

‘The duck was chased down by a small brown and white terrier type dog and the owner saw this happen and the duck was flapping and she took the duck in her hands and strangled the duck and threw her in the long grass.

‘It took us over an hour to find her as the dog owner ran off, she got in her car and left.’

She is now appealing for the dog walker to come forward to offer her an apology and an explanation.

The viscountess said: ‘We are deeply upset, the entire team here is upset. Runner ducks are part of Mapperton.

‘We have two other similar runner ducks who have been missing their friend. They were our three musketeers and the other two have been running around looking for him.

‘The fact that she took matters into her own hands, literally, to do something so inhumane is appalling.

‘We want to appeal to her so we can speak with her and get an explanation and an apology.

‘A lot of our staff have been affected by the incident and some have been reduced to tears.’

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.

There are signs around the estate reminding the 15,000 annual visitors to keep their dogs on leads.

The spot where Quackers was attacked. Lady Montagu is now appealing for the dog walker to come forward to offer her an apology and an explanation

Quackers has since been buried in the garden.

Lady Montagu said she was not going to involve the police or the RSPCA as she just wanted an apology.

Mapperton House is a Jacobean mansion and is open it to the public between March 31 and September 30.

It has been the setting for numerous films, including the 2021 remake of Rebecca, starring Lily James, and the 1995 film Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow.

It is home to gardens, a café, a wild play area and a self-guided safari.

It was voted the 2020 Historic Houses ‘Garden of the Year’ and ‘Nation’s Finest Manor House’ by Country Life.

Lady Montagu has started a YouTube channel called ‘American Viscountess’ which documents her life on the estate. It now has 223,000 subscribers.