After several months of consultations, the government on Monday presented its proposals to better ensure the practice of hunting and reduce the number of accidents.
From Loiret, the Secretary of State for Ecology Bérangère Couillard announced several arbitrations in her “hunting plan”, after a meeting with the agents of the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), which issues permits in France and participates in the police of hunt.
“The objective in which I deeply believe is to move towards zero accidents. (…) What we are looking for is greater security seven days a week”, declared the Secretary of State.
• A crime of alcohol in the blood
The government will prohibit hunting under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is planned to create “at the beginning of 2023 a fine to punish the act of hunting under the excessive influence of alcohol” and then promote “the creation of a crime by legislative means.”
• Training in handling weapons
The government wants to generalize training in the practical handling of weapons for all hunters. “One in two hunters will have to be trained by 2025 and all hunters will have to be trained by 2029,” says the executive.
The organizers of the hunt (some 200,000 people) must receive specific training from the federations “recalling in particular the safety regulations and the issues of communication with the neighbors.”
• Tougher sanctions
Bérangère Couillard also announced tougher penalties after a hunting accident. Under the plan presented on Monday, it will be possible to withdraw a hunter’s license for a certain period of time with a ban on returning it.
• A digital platform
In addition, to better inform residents and passers-by, a “digital platform” will be created to list the hunting or non-hunting areas in real time, as well as the schedules.
The organizers of the collective hunt will have the obligation to declare themselves there, announces the government.
• Sunday ban ruled out
Bérangère Couillard, however, excluded the most radical idea that had emerged from the consultation carried out in recent months on the creation of a day, or at least half a day, without hunting at the national level, for example on Sunday. The Secretary of State had indicated that there was “no taboo” on the subject, but she ruled out this proposal on Monday.
Source: BFM TV
