Unloaded rifle under his arm, Philippe nervously searches different pockets of his fluorescent orange parka. He ends up taking out a small bundle of worn documents, which he hands to the agents of the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) who have come to ensure the smooth running of the big game hunt in which he is participating in the national forest. of Blois (Loir-et-Cher). “Ah, we don’t have the right paper…” comments Yohann.
The former municipal police officer, converted fifteen years ago within this specialized establishment in particular responsible for controlling hunting, notices at a glance the overrun of the annual validation date of Philippe’s license. Moment of hesitation between the two men. “This year’s must be in it… I’m not really used to it”, justifies the hunter. In forty years in the field, he claims to have been checked only twice, including this Monday in February. Yohann finally finds the right document, folded between an insurance certificate and the old license made of pale green cardboard. Sigh of relief from the principal concerned: without presentation of a valid hunting license, he risked a fine of up to 1,500 euros.
“It’s still extremely rare: regulars don’t take the risk of hunting without a license,” says Yohann. Despite everything, some people sometimes resist: recently, OFB agents happened to control a hunter whose license had been withdrawn, and who continued to hunt despite this sanction. “But the administration does not represent the bulk of our checks,” says Jean-Joël Courthial, OFB manager for the Loir-et-Cher department. Of the 198 inspections carried out by its services in 2022 on the practice of hunting, 49 violations were noted… And half concerned non-compliance with safety rules. “The vast majority of the respondents were not wearing their fluorescent vest, which is compulsory. Some fired towards the roads or railways, and some forgot safety signs along the roads”, list- he, while this last regulation was made compulsory everywhere in France by a decree dated October 5, 2020.
“Do you take out the gun, please?”
“Our inspections are necessary, because they show that the gendarmes are present on the ground. You sometimes have hunters who have been practicing for years, and certain rules pass over them… We are here to remind them”, explains Jean -Joël Courthial, before politely introducing himself to a group of hunters stopped on the side of the road. “Do you take out the gun, please?” he asks, pointing to a case stored in the car. “If you want, yes”, replies his interlocutor, shrugging his shoulders – like his colleague, he is not used to having to report to these “green policemen”, the only authority in charge of hunting controls in France. With a sure gesture, he opens the cover, dismantles his rifle and shows the unloaded weapon. “If they are found loaded or unprotected by a case without being dismantled, the risk is great. It is a 4th class offense which can be worth a fine of 135 euros”, insists the OFB agent.
This Monday, the team of four inspectors decided to report directly to the controlled group, made up of around forty “regulars” who meet at a fixed time and day. Before the start of the hunt, some hunters will be inspected at random on different themes: identity papers, equipment, shooting position… “In such large groups, you can’t look at the 40 licenses at once. It would be too long, and whoever cheats could blend in with the crowd”, justifies Jean-Noël Rieffel, regional director of the OFB for the Center Val-de-Loire. “Above all, we cannot arrive unexpectedly while they are shooting, it would be extremely dangerous”, specifies Jean-Joël Courthial. But sometimes, in the event of poaching, individual hunting or for small game hunts (partridges, quails, etc.), the agent is happy to be able to observe the hunters anonymously from the hunting grounds. “Sometimes we land on private land, we don’t need any authorization. The police prerogatives we enjoy allow us to control anyone.”
To stay as close as possible to “ground noises”, its agents can count on their close links with the inhabitants of the region, the farmers or the traders in the rural areas who would notice dangerous or illegal behavior during a hunting session. “A lot of information comes back to us from them, and it is essential.” Between the residents and the hunters, the tension is also palpable. “Some joggers do not agree to wait for the time of the beat, and decide to run despite everything on the firing line as a protest, which is completely unconscious”, recalls the departmental director of the OFB, who specifies that the hunt is then stopped. Other days, the insults fuse. This Monday, a driver brandished his middle finger as he drove past the hunters. “There are also people with whom we discuss, to whom we describe our practices and who come to watch the hunt… It’s not always conflicting”, argues a hunter, aware of the importance of communication around his activity.
Human faults
Because sometimes, the shortcomings of certain hunters lead to dramatic consequences. Between 2020 and 2022, no less than eight hunting license suspensions were thus ordered by the courts in the Centre-Val de Loire region, including four for serious material incidents that endangered the lives of others, three serious involuntary acts to a person’s physical integrity, and homicide. “These are extremely serious accidents: a hunter was killed by a shot from one of his colleagues, others injured themselves… We even had two bullets lodged in the passenger compartment, one of which which brushed against the headrest. The passengers are miraculous”, explains Jean-Joël Courthial. At the national level over the period 2021-2022, the OFB recorded 90 hunting accidents in total, including 8 fatalities. “For the very large majority, they are the result of human fault linked to non-compliance with basic safety rules”, regrets the establishment in its annual report on the subject. Among them, the organization points in particular to “non-compliance with the 30-degree shooting angle” imposed on hunters, “poor handling of weapons”, or even “shooting in the direction of roads, homes or hiking trails “.
“You have to be careful. I always respect my angle, that’s the basis!” comments Philippe facing his line of fire, assessing with a ladle the space in which the regulations allow him to aim, between a broken branch and a small tree. If some of his colleagues mark the angle with flashy plastic rods, the man has a habit of finding his way with the naked eye. “The problem is that hunters can be very willing when they show you the 30 degree mark… But in the adrenaline of the hunt and the excitement of the moment, they can forget those distances. is in this type of case that there can be errors, sometimes dramatic, “said Jean-Noël Rieffel. To improve the safety of the practice of hunting, Senator Patrick Chaize (LR) provides precisely, in a bill tabled on February 1, to make the materialization “by the hand of man” of the 30 degree angle mandatory for manipulations and shooting. While 9% of serious hunting accidents during the 2021-2022 season were linked to alcohol consumption, the senator also wants to introduce an offense of alcoholism and drug consumption for hunters, both punishable by two years. imprisonment and a fine of 4,500 euros. And while the regulations concerning hunting safety differ according to the departments, the bill also provides for a “standardization of safety rules” on the territory.
“It greatly simplifies things: we will no longer be able to hear excuses according to which the hunters ‘did not know'”, comments Jean-Noël Rieffel. This afternoon, no offense was noted by the OFB – and no game was also shot by the hunters, slightly annoyed. “But our presence is above all a deterrent: we are also there to raise awareness,” concludes the regional director of the Office. During the traditional debriefing at the end of the hunt, several shooters will speak to his team. “Frankly, is it condemnable to lay a loaded weapon against a tree?” asks one. “Not in the department, but I strongly advise against it,” replies Jean-Joël Courthial patiently. In the event of an accident, this indelicacy could be considered as an aggravating circumstance by the courts.