A wild boar killed… in the garden of a hunting victim

« Furious, outraged and amazed at such a lack of decency. » Reached by telephone by ReporterreRalph, a friend of Morgan Keane, killed by a hunter at the end of 2020 while he was cutting wood near his house in Calvignac (Lot), still could not believe it. Sunday December 29, 2024, a hunter entered the Keane property, although hunting had been prohibited since the accident, to kill a wild boar.

« There was only Rowan [le petit frère de Morgan Keane] at home at that time, says Ralph. He was on the terrace of his house when he heard, around 2 p.m., a loud crash coming up towards the bamboo grove. He suspected it was a wild boar. He then heard a hunting dog going the same way, then a man, followed by a gunshot. »

The young man then waited a few minutes before going out to meet the hunters. Upon seeing it, the perpetrator ran away, leaving the animal’s corpse there, according to several testimonies collected by Reporterre. Rowan Keane then called Ralph’s mother, who immediately went to the scene with her son.

The beast had to be finished off, the hunters plead

The trio then called the gendarmes, who sent men to the site to carry out the first findings. « The beat director was interviewed »reported to Reporterre the president of the Hunting Federation, Jean-François Cau. « The Cahors public prosecutor’s office was informed of these facts and an investigation was immediately opened. Investigation directives have been given, but we have not yet received feedback on all of the investigations. »indicated to Reporterre the vice-prosecutor of the Cahors judicial court.

Was the shooting legal ? After Morgan Keane’s death, the property became an Aspas refuge — named after the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals (Aspas), which helps landowners ban hunting on their land. Hunters were therefore not supposed to enter there. But there is in hunting a « resale right » which authorizes hunters to kill a mortally wounded animal wherever it is. This is what happened in Calvignac on December 29, according to Jean-François Cau.

« The boar had been shot and injured in the back legs and had managed to drag itself on its front legshe says. He came to finish his journey on the property. There the dogs went up to the farm [la chasse au ferme est une chasse au cours de laquelle des chiens sont lancés à la poursuite d’un animal et l’encerclent]. The hunters noted GPS and at the sound the dogs stopped moving and went to finish the animal. »

This explanation does not convince M^e Julien Roelens, lawyer for the collective Un jour un chasse founded by four friends of Morgan Keane after his death. Indeed, the resale right only applies if the animal is mortally wounded, in which case the act of killing it is not considered an act of hunting. If he is only wounded, killing him in a non-huntable area is an offense.

The hunters should have warned Rowan

« You can imagine that in the heat of battle, it is complicated to know whether an animal is mortally wounded or only injured. There is a vagueness on which the hunters, in these matters, can play »said the lawyer. Richard Holding, a member of Aspas, knows the Micmac well, because the association assists refuge owners in their disputes with hunting companies. « It’s very complicated to prove. This is why we recommend that the people we accompany film or take photos if they suspect an offense. Otherwise, it’s word against word. »

Another question mark: should the hunters have warned the Keane family that they were going to kill a wild boar on their land? ? According to M.^e Julien Roelens, yes, even in the event of a sequel. Otherwise, it is a « home invasion punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros ». « To exercise this right of continuation, a hunter must request authorization from the owner of the land. »also confirmed to Reporterre the French Biodiversity Office (OFB).

Jean-François Cau acknowledges with his lips a « error »linked to the fact that Rowan, the last member of the Keane family, only occasionally stays in Calvignac: « The hunters went through their process, thinking there was no one in the house. If they had known it was inhabited, they might not have dared to do it. The proof: when they heard screaming, they ran. » Faced with these actions, Aspas says it is studying the possibility of filing a complaint and requesting the dissolution of the hunting company that organized the hunt.

Imperturbable hunters ?

Beyond the legal nature of this wild boar shooting, the question of its legitimacy arises. The death of Morgan Keane, aged just 25, mistaken for a wild boar by an inexperienced hunter and shot in the chest right next to his home, caused a national shock wave. The petition from the One Day a Hunter collective for a ban on hunting on Sundays and Wednesdays, stricter training for hunters and increased control over the use of firearms had collected more than 120,000 signatures.

This mobilization did not seem to disturb the hunters in the Calvignac sector, denounces Mila Sanchez, friend of Morgan Keane and co-founder of the collective: « We know that they continue to hunt around the house almost every weekend. And there, they allow themselves to enter the property and kill a wild boar 36 meters from the front door. This is a total lack of respect for loved ones. We do not understand how they can continue to come and kill there, in this garden, without seeing an ethical and moral problem. »

« It’s a total lack of respect for loved ones. »

Supporters of the Keane family do not spare the State either, which, according to them, shows culpable indulgence towards hunters. The Un jour un chasse collective had indeed been invited by Bérangère Abba, then Secretary of State for Biodiversity, to present his proposals for safer hunting.

Permissive government

Without result, since the government has instead taken new pro-hunting measures, such as the sale of ammunition at tobacconists or the extension of the wild boar hunting period to the whole year.

« In France, there is a permissiveness towards hunting that is unique in Europe. The State has entrusted hunting federations with the task of defining minimum shooting distances near houses and gardens. It’s like asking big-engine drivers to enact their department’s Highway Code. In doing so, he completely disengaged from his prerogative as a public authority supposed to ensure the security of the French. »accuse M^e Julien Roelens.

It indicates that 60 % of non-hunters killed by hunters over the last fifteen years have been killed on their own property. The 1^is February 2024, Aspas and the collective Un jour un chasse also appealed to the Paris administrative court for wrongful failings on the part of the State. Objective: to force the latter to adopt national measures to ensure the safety of citizens with regard to hunting.