MTB rider killed by hunter in Alps, France

[mercalia]

September to February

Seems like it is very dangerous to visit the countryside during hunting season, seems like quite a few people get killed then

https://www.thelocal.fr/20171218/hunting-the-worst-thing-about-living-rural-france

Any one here any experience of this, as cyclists? This suprised me when I read the article

"I have a small 11 hectare farm, my home sits right in the middle of my property. My wife and I have eight horses and we enjoy riding on the paths that surround our home.

"But during hunting season we do not ever go out for walks, hikes, or bike rides. The hunters in our area are constantly coming within more than 150 meters of our home, on our property, and cracking off shots at the game they are hunting - pigeons, sanglier, deer, whatever."

[teamonster]

I was cycling in the Dordogne this Autumn and came across quite a lot of hunters. My friend who lives there suggests they are more of a danger to themselves ! That said I’d be sure to wear bright clothing if they are out and about. The biggest risk was the speed they drove their 4x4s along the narrow country roads - bit worrying as they are reknown for liquid breakfasts and lunches, they were generally very friendly though. I wouldn’t let it worry you too much though.

[Cyril Haearn]

500 000 wild boars are despatched each year in Germany
Recently one of them attacked one hunter who died from his injuries

Woe betide the humans, if a single animal sits at the court of the last judgement!

In Germany at least hunting is relatively well organised, does not cause trouble in my leafy suburb

[ossie]

I cycled up EV6 in France from Basel direction

Orleans heading West it was like some kind of wild west movie on a sunday. There were hunters / gun dogs and a general free for all in the fields on both sides of the cycle path which was being used by runners / cyclists /pedestrians..

[Psamathe]

I suspect there are good and bad hunts in France. I am very anti-huntng in the UK but when I moved to France (and had a decent number of hectares) after a bit the local hunt got the courage to come and ask me for an agreement to allow them to hunt on my land. It's a formal legal agreement with term, obligations, cancellation procedures, etc. They were a thoroughly decent group and took me round their "area" showing all the conservation work they do, the constraints they operate under, etc. I gave them permission to use a specific half of my land and they were overjoyed and every few weeks there would be a knock on the door with some hunter presenting me with a pheasant or more wild boar pate than I could eat in a year, etc. They never broke the agreement, never going on the fields I had not granted permission for.

But that was one local group covering 2 communes. I'm sure there are bad ones as well ...

I would trust the individuals from my local hunt in France way way above some people in the UK I've come across who have and love guns.

Ian

[Tom_B]

Have had several encounters with hunters during autumn tours on the continent. The only one that felt even mildly dangerous was wild camping by a vineyard in the Rhône valley. Just got the tent down when I heard the crack of gunfire in the next field, maybe 200m away behind a thick hedge. As a precaution, I hugged the ground for a few minutes, by which time it was nearly dark. Briefly scary, but then so are close passes by motor vehicles.

A couple of days later, packing up the tent 6am-ish, man comes along in a 4x4. Watching ‘le gibier’ (game) he said. He seemed quite unconcerned at my presence. When I attempted to apologise for wild camping he looked at me as if I was mad (for apologising, not camping, that is)

Some years earlier, in Rheinland Pfalz, scouting out a place to camp. Another man in 4x4. Told him I was ‘just admiring the view’ He smiled: ‘you might interfere with the game here. Top of that hill is a good place to camp, no-one will bother you there’. Top of the hill, 500m away there was an open-sided machine shed with no house nearby and a spot to put the bike and sleeping mat. In those days I got by with just a bivvy bag on tour. It tippled down that night. A lucky encounter!

[100%JR]

Very sad.
https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/14/british- ... e-8036609/

[ossie]

Sadly a British cyclist has been shot by hunters in France

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... -in-france

In my experience its out of control over there.

[francovendee]

I've lived in rural France for 15 years and we see lots of hunting going on near us. Sundays are the worse, especially the afternoons.
It's common to see hunters on the tracks carrying 'unbroken' guns which is a big risk of accidental firing.
We were told by neighbours to always wear bright colours when we were cycling the tracks.
On one occasion my wife was peppered with shot. Luckily none hit her face and being winter she had several layers of clothing on so no damage but a shock.
When we got near the culprit there wasn't a word of apology and they just turned and walked away.
The guys doing this are mostly older and shoot at anything that moves. Add some wine and poor eyesight to the mix and I'm surprised more people don't get shot

[Debs]

The victim was “perfectly identifiable” and was on a well-used but hard-to-access mountain track when he was shot by a 22-year-old hunter, who was taken to hospital in shock.

An inquiry has been launched for aggravated manslaughter, the prosecutor said.

Typical of gun toting idiots in any country, shoot at anything that moves, shoot first and ask questions later.

Goes to show how vile these bloodlust junkies are, and why the law should never allow hunting let alone give them access to guns.
I hope the French legal system gives him life for the crime of cold blooded murder,
and highlights the verdict as a warning for all bullet headed bungalow Bills.

[Cyril Haearn]

The victim was “perfectly identifiable” and was on a well-used but hard-to-access mountain track when he was shot by a 22-year-old hunter, who was taken to hospital in shock.

An inquiry has been launched for aggravated manslaughter, the prosecutor said.

Typical of gun toting idiots in any country, shoot at anything that moves, shoot first and ask questions later.

Goes to show how vile these bloodlust junkies are, and why the law should never allow hunting let alone give them access to guns.
I hope the French legal system gives him life for the crime of cold blooded murder,
and highlights the verdict as a warning for all bullet headed bungalow Bills.

Unlikely to get life I suspect

How good that the British police are generally unarmed, +1!

[Audax67]

The hunting clubs have a lot of influence here. Some years ago our club planned an MTB event through state-owned forest. We put our declarations, with maps, in to the Préfecture and received an OK from all the mairies whose areas we'd be riding through, ditto from the Office National des Forêts. The evening before the ride we checked the circuit and all was well, but on the morning of the event we found a vast quantity of brush and chunks of tree in the entrance to one of the trails, and the markers had been removed from a couple of kilometres. A little detection revealed that the mayor of one community had passed our maps over to the hunters.

[cyclemad]

we go out to Italy several times a year ,and mostly clash with the hunting seasons...If we venture off the beaten path we wear high visibility clothing...even if if it is a baseball cap etc so that we hopefully will not be mistaken for a deer ...So far - we have not experienced any issues...

We keep in contact with the local hunters - who are usually the farmer / land owner and it has its benefits;- Wild boar steaks ... Venison etc....awesome cooked over a camp fire.

[Cyril Haearn]

Wear hi-vis ok, should one be noisy?Or quiet?

There is a lot of hunting in Germany but it is quite well organised of course

[Paulatic]

Karma? https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/brit ... ssion=true