An investigation was opened in Châlons-en-Champagne, in particular for "
provoking a minor to commit an offense
" and "
moral abandonment of a minor
", after the broadcast of a video showing a child finishing off a boar, encouraged by a hunter, we learned from the prosecution.
The prosecutor of Châlons-en-Champagne, Ombeline Mahuzier, told AFP that she had "
opened a flagrant investigation
" for these two offenses, as well as for "
act of cruelty to an animal
".
The investigation was entrusted to the gendarmerie and the information "
transmitted to the children's judge for educational assistance
", she said.
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The naturalist Pierre Rigaux, founder of the association "
Nos Viventia
" (We the living), shared the video on social networks on Monday, in a blurred version, announcing the filing of a complaint.
The hunter in question "
had himself published it on his Facebook account
" on November 22, before "
quickly deleting it
", explained Mr. Rigaux to AFP.
Very violent scene
"
It's a very violent scene
", showing "
the end of the hunt
", where a boar "
caught up by the dogs and cornered, tries to take refuge
" in brambles, described the naturalist.
“
The hunter and father of the child films the scene
”.
In the images, "
the child is holding a knife, and the father is insisting heavily that his son go and stab the boar, or + poke him +, as he says
", he continued.
“
In this kind of hunting, the hunter finishes off the animal with a bladed weapon when he cannot do so with a gun.
Except that there, he asks his son, who looks to be ten or twelve years old
, ”explains Mr. Rigaux.
The little boy “
seems to have trouble
”, and clumsily carries “
several stab wounds
”, he says.
The hunter "
thus prolongs the suffering of the boar
", while the child "
could have been injured
".
The Penal Code “
only punishes acts of cruelty to animals in captivity, domestic or tamed
”.
In this situation, "
as he is captured and the agony lasts
", "
the notion of captivity could be retained
", argued Mr. Rigaux.