“We need a political response”† Here’s the Brigitte Bardot Foundation’s request, two days after the hunting accident that killed a 25-year-old hiker. A drama that is far from “an isolated case”, as told by the animal protection organization.
It is a drama reminiscent of Morgan Keane, a young man killed by a hunter while chopping wood outside his house, in December 2020. This Saturday, February 18, a woman was hit again by a bullet that was lost. as they walk on a marked trail in Cantal. The alleged shooter, a 17-year-old hunter, was taking part in a wild boar hunt.
Two days after this catastrophic event, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation sounds the alarm. Interviewed by our colleagues from FranceInfocalls on spokesperson Christophe Marie “strong measures”starting with a “much stricter supervision” of the activity. A request that seems to be followed by the majority of the French population.
“The death of this young woman is not an isolated incident. In 20 years, fighters have killed more than 400 people and injured thousands. […] Obviously the number of accidents has decreased, but there are fewer hunters today than 40 years ago.”
In 2021, 71% of French women and men felt unsafe walking during a hunting season (compared to 46% in 2009). Today, 83% of them even say: “for the introduction of two non-hunting days per week plus school holidays. †
† We do not have to accept that this armed minority has the right, six months out of the year, to impose its free time on everyone else.†
But to get things moving, the state still needs to take proper guidelines: “We must stop pretending that we will prevent these kinds of accidents as long as we use armed minors. We are waiting for a real response from the government. †