This is a position that will not fail to cause controversy.
After several high-profile hunting accidents, the boss of the powerful National Federation of Hunters, Willy Schraen, spoke at length to the
Journal du dimanche
.
He took the opportunity to make a proposal that is unprecedented to say the least.
"
I think that in terms of community policing, the departmental federations of hunters have a role to play in contributing to the prevention and surveillance of the territories in addition to the sovereign missions of the State
", he said. .
Read alsoHunting in the viewfinder after accidents
In summary, the boss of hunters thinks that they could support the gendarmes to fight against "
rural and environmental delinquency
".
And he intends to raise this possibility during the congress of mayors, from November 16 to 18.
This role could be entrusted to the “
development agents
” of the Federation, who are “
trained and sworn professionals
”.
A "convention" signed between municipalities and hunters
"
They could, tomorrow, under the control of the State and the mayors, have broader missions to deal with illegal garbage dumps, the straying of domestic animals, problems linked to the presence of motorized vehicles in the forest in sensitive places, etc.
», Offers Willy Schraen.
Concretely, it would not be a question of "
giving weapons to hunters [...] nor of transforming our agents into police officers of the environment
", but of "
drawing up reports and to note flagrant offenses
", details the boss of the Federation.
Read alsoMarc Fesneau: "Hunting is a revolutionary right"
This partnership would take the form of a "
convention
" signed between the rural municipalities and the departmental federations of hunters, "
for the realization of certain observations
".
“
In reality, many mayors are already calling on us, but our action is limited to meet their expectations.
It would therefore be a question of giving a legal framework to our intervention,
”he argues.
Hunting accidents that are too "publicized"
During the interview, Willy Schraen also returned to current events, and the many hunting accidents that have occurred in recent weeks. If he “
obviously deplores
” these dramas, he regrets on the other hand that they are too “
publicized
”. "
If tomorrow hunting was prohibited, the animals would multiply, the risk of collision on the road would increase, and that would cause the death of hundreds of people,
" he
explains
to the
JDD
. He also described hunting as a "
family inheritance
" and its practitioners as "
watchful enthusiasts and regulators
", not "
death officials or killing machines
."
Read alsoFrancis Wolff: "Hunting can be defended other than by praising tradition"
Reacting to the petition calling for the ban on hunting on Wednesdays and Sundays, which has collected more than 100,000 signatures and which has seized the Senate, the president of the Federation regretted that the authors want a special status for the victims of hunting.
“
We are talking about an accident, words have a meaning!
We are not talking about someone who willfully killed or injured a walker,
”he said indignantly.
Willy Schraen nevertheless wishes to be "
more expeditious with regard to the hunting license
" by proposing that "
if someone kills or seriously injures a person by having committed a serious fault, it is no longer possible for him to recover his license. hunting
”.
