hunters and sport shooters only have a few hours left to declare their weapons online

Hunters and sport shooters must declare their weapons online before Wednesday January 1st. In Corrèze, if those concerned comply with this new obligation, there are certain reluctances.

“Here, we have a linear rifle, caliber 30-06, which was purchased recently.“Standing in his living room, gun in hand, Julien Colombeau shows himself to be an educator. He happily shares everything that relates to his passion: hunting.”It is really specific to the hunt. We are still using fairly powerful bullets. It is only for big game: wild boar, deer, roe deer.“In his family, this knowledge is passed down from father to son. Recently, something new has been added to their daily lives: the obligation to register all their weapons in a form on the internet.

“We have serial numbers to enter, the brand of the rifle, but also the barrel lengths. Anything that represents the weapon“, explains this Corrézien residing in Lubersac. Hunters and sports shooters must declare their firearms on the internet before this Wednesday, January 1. To make this declaration to the State, they must create an account on the Weapons Information System (SIA) website by providing their identity and the weapons held. Hunters are also required to provide a permit. As for sports shooters, it is their license which is compulsory.

The government's objective is to identify all firearms owners for better traceability. In France, according to the Ministry of the Interior, more than five million firearms are legally in circulation. Two million people own them, and more than a million of them hunt, according to the National Hunters Federation.

Old hunters who don't have a computer, I wonder how they are going to manage to declare their weapons.

Jean-Louis Colombeau, former president of the Lubersac hunting company

Julien's father, Jean-Louis Colombeau, is the former president of the Lubersac hunting company. Although he recognizes the benefit of listing weapons held by individuals, particularly in the event of an accident, he doubts that all those concerned will be able to carry out this process. “I agree, but there are some people that will really annoyhe announces. Especially among old hunters who don't have computers. I wonder how they are going to manage to declare arms.“

Failure to register your firearms can result in penalties such as seizure by authorities, invalidation of hunting licenses, fines, and even prison sentences.

Report by Damien Lefauconnier and Thomas Noa.