French hunters have reacted angrily to suggestions they be stopped from drinking while out shooting to reduce accidental deaths and injuries.
The proposal would make those taking part in hunts subject to the same rules on blood alcohol limits and subsequent penalties as motorists. It is one of 30 recommendations made by France’s upper house of parliament, the senate, to address issues with hunt safety and the threat to members of the public.
France’s powerful hunting lobby, which is supported by the president, Emmanuel Macron, has dismissed the proposal, saying its members are being “stigmatised” and caricatured. It says 91% of breathalyser tests after hunting incidents are negative.
The senate’s proposal was prompted by a petition calling for stricter hunting rules after Morgan Keane, a British national, was accidentally killed by a hunter in December 2020. The 25-year-old was chopping wood in his garden at the time. The hunter, who was charged with manslaughter, said he had mistaken Keane for a wild boar.
The National Hunters’ Federation (FNC), which represents 800,000 licensed hunters, dismissed the senate report as a “mille-feuille of restrictions” that were “not appropriate or realistic”.
Credit: theguardian.com
