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Deaths and injuries linked to hunting on the rise in France again

Eleven people died in France during the last season for ' la chasse ', according to official figures, almost as many as the previous two seasons combined. In 2022-23 and 2023-24, the death toll among hunters had been six per year, a historic low, the annual report from the Office Français de la biodiversité (OFB) noted. This is the highest number recorded since 2019-2020. In addition, 60 serious injuries and 32 minor injuries were recorded. In total 84 percent of victims of hunt incidents were hunters - and all of those killed were hunters. Advertisement Only two of the 61 hunters involved in accidents tested positive for alcohol. A total of 16 non-hunters were also injured, three of them seriously, compared to none the previous year. READ ALSO Majority of French people favour hunting restrictions at weekends All together, 100 'accidents' were reported in 2024-25, involving 103 people – another increase after a historic low of 78 in the 2022-2023 season. Despite the rise in the fatalities: 'The overall trend over 25 years remains very good', OFB Director General Olivier Thibault told AFP, 'but we must remain vigilant.' 'We have made enormous progress with hunters, training is working well, but the trend could start to rise again,' Thibault warned, citing three areas for vigilance: weapon handling errors, failure to take the shooting environment into account, and the increase in emergency hunts organised to protect crops from attacks by wild boar or deer. READ ALSO How to stay safe during France's hunting season The OFB insisted this season's increase, 'does not call into question the underlying structural trend: hunting is now half as dangerous as it was 20 years ago.' From 2001 to 2010, the number of accidents fluctuated between 146 and 203 per season, including 15 to 31 fatalities. Hunting - which mostly involves shooting - has long been controversial in France because of its safety record, with serious injuries and deaths recorded among members of the public. Over the last decade victims have included hikers, a cyclist, and a man who was in his own garden when he was shot by mistake by a hunter. A new code of conduct has been launched which, among other things, outlaws alcohol for those handling guns.