Fatal accidents pit hunters against other users of the countryside
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskGame-shooting in France is not, mostly, an elite pastime. Over 1.1m people have hunting permits, making it the third-most-popular sport after football and fishing. For many locals it is at once a social get-together, a sport, a way to fill the fridge and a means of pest control. France’s National Forests Office reckons that half of publicly owned forests have an overpopulation of boar, deer and other game.
Yet hunting also led to 90 accidental shootings of people during the 2021-22 season, and eight deaths. This was more than in the previous season, although a drop from 31 deaths 20 years ago. Most victims are hunters, but passers-by are also at risk. Last season 17% of the accidents involved hunters shooting towards footpaths, roads or dwellings.
Despite the powerful French hunting lobby, and a fringe political party that represents it, rules have been tightened. A law passed in 2019 obliges game-shooters to wear an orange fluorescent jacket. In 2021 France’s highest court outlawed the use of glue-traps to snare songbirds, in line with European practice. The government may now go further. Bérangère Couillard, the junior minister in charge, says there is “no taboo”. She will unveil more proposals on January 9th.
One option would be to extend nationally a ban on hunting on Sundays that exists in some public forests. Green politicians want to outlaw hunting at weekends, on public holidays and in school holidays as well. Such ideas enrage, many of whom also work during the week, and who accuse squeamish city-dwellers of imposing their values on everybody else.Europe
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