This Tuesday, October 25, the government is presenting a plan to regulate the practice of hunting.
Hunting a dangerous activity? The numbers speak for themselves. During the 2021-2022 season, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), the hunting police, recorded 90 hunting accidents, eight of which resulted in death. The 2022-2023 season, which began on September 25, caused the death of a sexagenarian killed by her spouse during a wild boar beat. Since the end of September, accidents have multiplied, when the latest of cyclists, including a child, were hit this Sunday, October 23 by lead shots in Maine-et-Loire. This same Sunday, a cyclist also had to be hospitalized in Ille-et-Vilaine because hit by three pellets, indicated West France. The number of accidents has been falling for 20 years; the OFB indicated that for two years these dramas have remained “below 100”. A figure that remains extremely high; Under pressure from activists wanting to regulate this practice, the government must present an action plan this Tuesday, October 25.
During a trip to the Marne, the Secretary of State for Ecology who must attend several presentations of the OFB, including a hunting license examination, will take the opportunity to present a government plan to limit accidents. According to information from Parisianthese new rules should be put in place before Christmas or at the beginning of 2023. Several measures are under consideration.
A blood alcohol test soon to be implemented?
Le Parisien revealed that one of the main measures of this action plan would be the establishment of an offense of alcoholism during hunting. This measure had already been proposed by the Senate in a report published on September 14, 2022, among the 30 proposals, the Senate wanted to “prohibit alcohol and the use of narcotics while hunting.” The executive had refused to deprive alcohol during hunting parties. The government’s action plan should be more flexible and would aim to bring blood alcohol levels in line with current traffic rules. Thus, hunters will not be able to have more than 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood.
The president of the National Federation of Hunters, Willy Schraen reacted on October 25 to France info to the announcement of the possible adoption of this measure. For him, these provisions related to alcohol were already naturally adopted by hunters. The latter, according to him, “self-regulate”. “When we see someone who is under the influence of alcohol and who is going to start hunting, we kindly ask him to sit down, put down his gun and come back when things are better,” he said. -he declares. The president of the Federation also clarified his point with the help of a comparison: “We believe that we can still drive a car when we have drunk a maximum of two glasses, so it is that we must be able to hold a armed“. A comparison taken up by the Senate report aimed at regulating hunting: “Alcohol causes far fewer hunting accidents (9%) than road accidents, but this proportion is sufficient to justify this expected legislative development, the The inclusion in the environmental code will also allow OFB agents to control and sanction it.” The penalties incurred in the event of non-compliance with this ban should be presented this Tuesday, October 25.
The ban on hunting on Sunday afternoon?
The government plan would also include the suspension of hunting activity for part of the weekend. Environmental activists such as the Fédération France Nature Environnement (FNE) which is fighting for a ban on hunting on Sunday afternoons. Always questioned by France info on this potential measure, Willy Schraen said he was open to discussions to limit the hunting days but does not want to hear about a ban on Sunday afternoon: “It is out of the question that we let go on Sunday afternoon. noon, we are not sub-humans (sic)”, he was indignant. Not stingy in comparisons, the hunter clarified his point: “There are many people who suddenly decide at 3 p.m., when there is a ray of sunshine, to go out into the forest. They come face to face with hunters and, because they listen to TV and radio, they are terrified because they think it’s more dangerous than Ukraine and that there are 300 deaths a day,” he said.
Other preventive measures put in place?
As indicated by the Parisian, other measures would be considered, these would be educational measures such as better preparation of hunters for first aid. A measure already in place in some departments would also be presented: shooting at a 30 degree angle in front of the hunter, limiting the risk of shooting at neighbors. Walkers and residents would also be better informed of ongoing hunts in the wild, for example via an application, alerts, etc.