A 25-year-old hiker was shot dead on Saturday afternoon in Cantal, in a hunting accident, we learned from the gendarmes and the prosecution. A new drama and a sensitive subject in public opinion.
The young woman died on the spot after receiving a stray bullet around 3 p.m. Saturday during a wild boar hunt which started in neighboring Aveyron and was taking place, at the time of the events, in the town of Cassaniouze (Cantal), we said from the same source, confirming information from the local newspaper La Montagne.
According to the prosecution, the author of the shot in question is a young woman of 17 years. She tested negative for narcotics and alcohol and was taken to hospital in shock. An investigation was opened on the count of manslaughter and entrusted to the Aurillac research brigade, according to the prosecution.
The latest drama in a long series
A drama that adds to a long list of accidents that have taken place in recent weeks. A 67-year-old motorist was fatally injured by the shooting of a hunter while driving on the four-lane Rennes-Nantes on October 30, 2021. A few days earlier, a walker who was walking with his mother in Vallières-sur-Fier (Haute-Savoie), when he was seriously injured by a stray bullet fired during a boar hunt on October 29.
On December 2, 2020 a 25-year-old young man, Morgan Keane had also been killed near his home while collecting firewood in the forest. A hunter shot him in the chest during a wild boar hunt claiming he had taken him for an animal. A trial for manslaughter is expected to take place in 2022.
The subject on the presidential table
The subject of hunting is also one of the issues addressed by some presidential candidates. Yannick Jadot, presidential candidate for Europe Écologie Les Verts, for example, wants to ban hunting on weekends and during school holidays. ” She was 25 years old. A young woman died after being hit by a bullet during an afternoon hunt. Thoughts to his loved ones. We need more regulation of this activity, it is urgent! “, insisted on Saturday the environmental candidate for the presidential election. Five mayors of Ille-et-Vilaine also ask for half-days without hunting on weekends as well as the prohibition of rifles.
On the rebellious side of France too, it is estimated that hunting should be banned on weekends. “ The dramas multiply. The forest must belong on weekends to hikers and walkers. Five days of the week are enough to go hunting. We must no longer go to the forest with fear in our stomachs “Said MEP Manon Aubry on Sunday on RMC.
The debate on hunting has also been brought to the political arena, with President Macron being regularly accused by the opposition and by environmental defense associations of seeking the support of hunting associations. Support that would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back to explain the resignation of Nicolas Hulot of the Ministry of the Environment.
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For 22 years, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) has been listing all accidents involving human beings for each hunting season. In all, between 1998 and 2020, 3807 accidents were recorded, including 505 fatalities. Significant figures which would however be decreasing each year. Between 1998 and 2003, the OFB recorded an average of 207 accidents per year, including 34 fatalities, compared to 132 accidents per year, including 12 fatalities between 2015 and 2020.
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