The Viscountess’s horror when a female dog walker strangles her beloved duck Quackers on an estate

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

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

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

A gardener who witnessed the incident said he saw the dog drop the duck before its owner picked it up by the neck.

She was then seen strangling Quackers and throwing her lifeless body into the tall 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’ve had Quackers for 10 years and he was one of the most popular animals on the estate.”

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

The woman, who ignored signs to keep her dog on a leash, then left the property without informing a staff member 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 being chased by a small brown and white terrier-like dog. When the owner saw this happening, the duck began to flap her arms. She took the duck in her hands, strangled it and threw it into the tall grass.

“It took us over an hour to find her. The dog’s owner ran away, she got in her car and left.”

She is now calling on the dog walker to come forward and offer her apologies and explanations.

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

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

“The fact that she literally took the law into her own hands and did something so inhumane is horrifying.

‘We want to appeal to her so that we can talk to her and get an explanation and an apology.

‘Many of our employees have been affected by the incident and some have been moved to tears.’

Mapperton House has 1,900 acres of land with livestock, chickens and ducks among other things and has recently undertaken a rewilding project.

Signs on the estate remind the 15,000 annual visitors to keep their dogs on a leash.

The scene of the Quackers attack. Lady Montagu is now appealing to the dog walker to come forward and offer an apology and explanation

Quackers has since been buried in the garden.

Lady Montagu said she would not involve the police or the RSPCA as she only wanted an apology.

Mapperton House is a Jacobean country house and is open to the public from 31 March to 30 September.

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

There are gardens, a café, a wildlife playground and you can go on a self-drive safari.

It was voted ‘Garden of the Year’ for historic houses in 2020 and ‘Most Beautiful Country House in the Country’ 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.