Hunter, 43, dies after being shot during boar hunt in Normandy

A 43-year-old man was shot dead during an organised hunt in Orne (Normandy) in the department’s second such hunting accident in two months.

The man, who has not been named, was participating in the hunt near Aigle on February 4 as a rabatteur, or beater, driving animals out of the undergrowth towards the hunters. He was shot by a hunter when a wild boar ran out.

The hunter who shot him was taken into custody by the Mortagne-au-Perche gendarmerie for questioning.

This latest fatal hunting accident is similar to the previous one in the department on December 27. The victims were aged 43 and 44, both were beaters and both accidents happened at around 16:30.

‘Please be careful’

“I keep on stressing this point and repeating it: safety must be the primary concern when opening fire,” the president of the Orne hunting federation told FranceInfo.

“Awareness of your surroundings, respecting firing angles, signalling… this is what we are trying to hammer home all year round.

“I’m calling out to all hunters: ‘please, be careful'.”

This latest accident brings the number of hunting deaths to three so far in 2024 after a 72-year-old hunter was shot dead on January 14 and a 65-year-old hunter was found dead from a presumed heart attack in Lot (Occitanie) on January 6.

The 2022-2023 season saw 78 non-fatal accidents and six deaths nationally. The Office Francais de la Biodiversité will release its data on hunting accidents for the 2023-2024 season in August.

One in four hunting accidents concerned a non-hunter, according to French animal protection association ASPAS.

83% of these accidents were caused by firearms rather than the animals themselves.

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