France issues hunt 鈥榩ardon鈥� for escaped wild animals
Wild animals in France that end up running into inhabited or built-up areas due to wild hunting will now be 鈥減ardoned鈥� and allowed to go free, according to a new government decree.
The new law on March 1, in the most recent Journal Officiel.
It comes after controversy in late 2017, in the Oise (Hauts-de-France), in which a trapped stag was killed by wild hunters after it had escaped into a private garden.
This prompted national hunting group La F茅d茅ration Nationale des Chasseurs de France to address its practices, especially as several NGOs called for more rules on hunting in inhabited or built-up areas.
The new decree, which is likely to apply mainly to wild boar and stag, reads: 鈥淲hen the animal is desperate, or fenced in, and is located near houses adjacent to private gardens, to commercial or artisanal areas, offices, or establishments open to the public, [the animal] is to be 鈥榩ardoned鈥欌��.
In practice, this the head of the hunting group will have a responsibility to 鈥渆nsure that the animal is not approached鈥�, and must enable it to escape far from the inhabited area.
If this is not possible, the decree continues, the group must contact the authorities and a veterinarian.
The latter may, if necessary, tranquilise the animal to allow it to be moved back to safety, 鈥渁t the cost of the hunting group鈥� or - in the worst case scenario - 鈥渂egin the process of putting the animal to sleep鈥�.
