French woman hospitalised after boar charges at her as she gardens
The pensioner now has plaster over half of her body
The wild boar population in France has increased exponentially for 30 years
Wild Media/Shutterstock
A woman was seriously injured by a wild boar whilst gardening as it charged at her on Saturday.
The woman, who is in her seventies, was attended to by firefighters after neighbours contacted the emergency services.
She is "plastered from the pelvis to the neck," a relative told local news outlet La Nouvelle République.
“The woman is still hospitalised in Tours with multiple fractures," Patrick Michaud, the mayor of Veigné (Indre-et-Loire) said.
Read more: PHOTOS: Giant 178kg boar ‘like a bear’ found in south-west France
Cause of the accident
According to Mr Michaud the accident occurred while a “hunt was taking place in the municipality” which may have frightened the boar.
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However, Stéphane Loyau, head of the department’s French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), told Le Parisien that the boar going into the victim's garden could equally have “been caused by a walker, a dog, or any other presence in the area.”
The boar collided with a dog, a Rottweiler, in one garden, before then hitting the woman in her garden which is on the edge of some woods.
The local hunting association has covered veterinary costs for the family dog in the first garden and will contact the woman when she is discharged from hospital.
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Read more: Hunter dies after being charged by boar in south of France
Exponential increase
The wild boar population in France has increased exponentially for 30 years, with estimates that up to one million wild boars (sangliers) live in the country.
Generally boars inhabit small woods however they are not confined only to rural areas and can sometimes live close to cities, entering gardens of suburban properties.
As with all wildlife, wild boars are legally classified as not having owners so there is no individual who is legally responsible for any damage they cause.
However if you live in a hunting zone, and the damage or injury was caused during or immediately after a hunt, you may be able to seek redress from the hunt organisers.
Read also
Can we claim on house insurance if boars damage our French garden?
French wildlife charity to turn hunting enclosure into nature reserve
Woman, 19, dies in crash as wild boar crosses motorway near Toulouse
