The last hunting season saw a slight increase in accidents, 141 in total including 11 fatalities, including one non-hunter death, said this Friday the French Office for Biodiversity, which highlights the impact of hunting big game.
The total number of accidents in the 2019-2020 season is slightly higher than the previous season, which had experienced 131, as was the number of fatal accidents, which had been 7 in the previous season. Overall, 90% of accident victims are hunters, according to the OFB. The OFB stresses, however, that the longer-term trend is downward, with a fall of 71% in the number of fatal accidents compared to 1999.
Human faults
According to this assessment, 56% of accidents occurred during big game hunts, during which 99% of accidents "are due to human faults", notes the OFB. The main causes of accidents are improper handling of the weapon, the first cause in particular of "auto-accidents", non-compliance with the shooting angle of 30 ° - intended to avoid hitting another participant on the side during posted hunts - and shooting at breast height or in the direction of dwellings and roads open to traffic.
In November, Secretary of State for the Ecological Transition Emmanuelle Wargon had called for "a determined reaction from the hunting world" in the face of accidents, when the death toll was already eight dead, more than during the entire previous season.
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Why have there been so many hunting deaths this year?
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