Saint-Gaudens. Court: a Kite shot down, the rifle confiscated
“Times change, the art of hunting must be carried out in strict compliance with the rules. The customs and use of another time no longer have to be” argues the prosecutor in this environmental case. On March 4, in Estadens, François
70 years old, arms his shotgun loaded with lead, caliber 12 and fires at a Milan Royal which is about 70 m away. The injured bird of prey falls to the neighbor who picks it up. This one goes to meet François, who recognizes being the shooter and wishes to recover the beast, “to cure it”, he will specify. The neighbor took her to a veterinarian who saw her condition, euthanized her. A complaint is filed. François is being prosecuted for the destruction of a protected species. At the bar of the court he admits the facts: “I acted badly. I wanted to protect my chicks, of which two broods disappeared. I thought it was a hawk.” The court is perplexed: a skilled hunter since the age of 16, François could not ignore that a buzzard is also one of the protected species. And “why do you want to treat the raptor … after having shot him”.
France Nature Environnement, Nature Comminges, Nature Occitanie, the League for the Protection of Birds have joined together as a civil party and are asking for compensation. For the OFB, (French Biodiversity Office) – the Environmental Police “this is an unacceptable attitude in 2021, especially given the decline of this protected species (-50% between 2000 and 2013), knowing that even the act of shooting in the air constitutes a contravention. The disappearance of the chicks may be the act of a fox “. The prosecutor evokes behaviors to “safeguard his home, his little comfort” which must change. It requires a suspended sentence of € 5,000, the posting of the decision and the seizure of the weapon “.
Master Abadie for the defense evokes not a hunting affair, an intention to kill, but “an error”, an “imprudence”, a “reaction of annoyance” in relation to the missing brood. After deliberation, the accused receives a suspended fine of € 4,000, confiscation of the rifle and ammunition, no publication of this decision. He will have to pay 1,847 € all damages combined.
* (First name changed).