Conditions of Hunting With a Retriever
Issue No. 2241- If a hunting dog hunts a wild halal-meat animal, it will be halal if the following five conditions are fulfilled:1- The dog should be trained in such a way that when commanded to catch the prey, it goes and when restrained from going, it stops. In fact, insofar as it has been trained for hunting, it will be sufficient, though it may itself go towards the prey as soon as its eyes catch sight of the prey. However, if it has the habit of eating the prey before its owner arrives, its prey should be avoided as an obligatory precaution but there would be no harm if it sometimes eats the prey or only drinks its blood. 2- The person who sends out the dog for hunting should be a Muslim or a Muslim child who distinguishes between good and bad [1] as an obligatory precaution. One who expresses enmity towards the Household of the holy Prophet Muhammad (ṣ) is not a Muslim, and his game should be avoided as an obligatory precaution.3- The hunter should utter the name of Allah at the time of sending the dog or when the dog is leaving. However, there is no harm if he forgets to do so. And it will not be necessary to utter the name of Allah just before sending the dog, rather, if he utters it before the dog reaches the prey, it will be halal.4- The prey should die as a result of the wound inflicted by the dog’s teeth. Therefore, if the dog suffocates the prey to death or the prey dies because of running too much or out of fear, it is not halal.5- The hunter who sends the dog should reach the spot when the animal is dead or if it is alive, there should not be enough time to slaughter it. However, if he reaches there when there is time to slaughter it, for example, it moves its eyes or strikes its feet to the ground, he should slaughter the prey in accordance with the rules prescribed by sharia, or else, it is haram.
