Carol, careful. Hunting accidents on horseback and shooting are pretty numerous in the UK but very hushed up. I lived for a long time in a place where the horseback lot were based more or less next door and within half an hour there were more shooting estates than open land. Either way, open or hushed up, the correlation between drinking and hunting does not work. It should be 100% illegal to hold a weapon or sit on a horse with as much as a small nip of anything. However, as we know, the majority of people who can afford to ride out with the hunt can afford to be beyond the critique, therefore reach of the law, of anybody. Farmers in the main, as they are here, who hunt follow the reasoning that if generations before did it then I shall do it, which is why they zoom about in little vans that never go in for CT, with loaded gun in the back, no seat belts, pi**ed as newts and all in the name of tradition. If the law had any balls, it would round them all up and ban them once and for all. Then it should start hunting all over again in a proper, organised fashioned with proper courses, tests, refresher training and an upper age limit plus have an inspectorate. But they do not.
Mark I absolutely understand and feel in tune with your comment. I told an old friend (ex UK policeman) that I was asking for a tazer gun for xmas....(they are freely available for purchase on line, and the USA do a lovely line in pink diamante ones the right size for a girls handbag!) my dreams are full of the joys of vigilante vengence... watch this space!
The difference with the UK and here in France David is that there are so many shooting 'accidents' here; health and safety is derided and every year domestic animals and humans are hurt. The French need to be aware that their traditions shouldnt be the cause of injury to the public or their pets.
I had the plumber in once doing a job. He heard the guns firing opposite so he dropped tools and went out to join in and returned later to finish the job. That was about 35 years ago. I did get to carry the Cross at his funeral though.
It's much more controlled now and the "slaughter" that people twitter on about is actually far less than in the UK where many more birds are raised for the express purpose of the sport. In the UK it's merchant bankers, property developers etc. Here it's more in the tradition of the countryside with often local residents. I personally don't do it, but then I don't hug newts either. I would get annoyed if I personally suffered from the worst excesses of course. I did have a friend who lost some of his windows through clear chasse negligence. I certainly don't like the way that dogs are frequently lost or even abandoned. One has not be thanked for looking after such a dog, or, on one occasion returning to the owner an escaped goat.
Jings, Maria. That's appalling about your neighbour's horse. We have lost a cat to the gun-slingers and I fantasize sometimes about Death Wish-style vigilante vengeance. What can you do? Human beans! It's like aerial wolf shootings in the Rockies. I just hope that they will be punished one day in an eternal hell of fire and brimstone, supervised by the spirits of all those slain animals.
Thank you for the dates. That's a long season. I'll just have to keep my wits about me, ears open and avoid any areas where I see cars parked on the roadside.
There's some excellent information/advice coming on here as to what to do with regards enroachment, dangerous behaviour etc.
We feel vulnerable as we are on a hill in the boondocks and the crack of the gun suggests they are not firing that far away.
31 March 2013, Val. I have the leaflet from the Dordogne regional hunt here. It starts slightly different times in the departments, so find out each year by mid August for early September on.
I think it finishes end of February.
How long does the hunting season last for, by the way, so that I don't unwittingly take the dogs and child for a walk wrong time/wrong place?
It seems to me it's the local authorities who have to step up and enforce reasonable behaviour within their jurisdictions. No one or their pets or children should have their lives at risk in France by hoons carrying guns. Does France want to be considered as bad as the USA? National Federation is at http://www.chasseurdefrance.com/
Contact the hunt associations and explain what's going on and see if they can send a statement to each Mairie for public broadcast-dissemination. No wonder hunting has such a bad press. My boyfriend is very upset that hunting is so frowned on but then he doesn't see the other side. He thinks there are only a few bad eggs. Clearly he's wrong. I'll have a chat to him over the weekend and see if he can suggest something as he doesn't want the hunt to get more bad press.
Other than that start an email campaign to politicians about the lives in danger and the law-flaunting, tweet every email and make a big noise but do it in correct French or they'll just think you're all whingeing Poms.
Valerie agree with your comment...but I think you read Glens comment out of context...I tend to always start with a persons full name when making a comment to them. He certainly wasnt making fun of the name, but was obviously horrified by the comment and was making it clear he was not in agreement with Robert.
our first taste of the crack of the gun early in the morning was within a few days of moving to France three years ago....in the Languedoc...we were living 100 metres from the beach and I was amazed it was an area where they were shooting. We now live in the Dordogne and although we are now in a countryside area, there is less hunting here, and far less shooting apparent. We were in St Cyp last week with friends and they commented on the fact the shooting is non stop there.
Clare, totally agree with your comment that people should abide by the law, not traditions (had to paraphrase as on different page so I hope that's accurate enough). There is a big difference between the two. Having an annual hunt may be a tradition passed down over centuries but the idiots who simply spout that as an excuse to do what they please are those who choose to flout the laws regulating it. I know this is a different country but in Malta I used to hear constantly (as in weekly) that the locals had every right to hunt because it was 'tradition' and foreigners had no right to say otherwise. The foreigners they referred to was Birdwatch who were trying to monitor flock migrations - the 'hunters' would lay in wait either on land or in speed boats and shoot down any flamingo or protected species flying overhead. This was obviously not for food or culling, this was simply for 'fun'. So I agree both with you and Carol. As to Glenn's comment, I think if he thought it was Robert's comment that was pompous, he would not have typed out Robert's full name and placed the 'pompous' remark immediately after it.
I feel for you as you have no control over the land, is is the land owner only. But if it is registered with the prefecture, regardless of the change of owner it remains so for 4 years and an application has to be made to change status 6 months before expiry. But the 150m still applies, even if they are on the plot of land next door to the house. Bon chance.
I chatted with a Scots guy who was on the departmental hunt display out our village festival last month. He told me that complaints to them are taken seriously and that they will have licences revoked for justifiable ones. He explained that a shotgun should not only be carried breech open, but also unloaded when there is a need to go within the 150m. Also, if somebody refuses to show their licence or gives reason for doubt they have one, at the very least use a mobile phone to photograph that person and they will look into it. They need to be able to identify (or not) the person in question. I find that all very reasonable. I am certain they do that, it is the local people who bully who are the problem.
Why do you think that Robert? wouldnt you agree that the world has been changed for the better often by incomers not accepting bad traditions or behaviours?
@ Valerie. I don't think Glenn meant the name, I think he meant the attitude.
@ Julie, complain to the prefecture and highlight that your land is interdit. We haven't seen ours since. But you MUST make sue that it is registered with the prefecture as interdit. That is what gives you your protection.
Glen, that's appalling what happened to your pets and in such a brutal way. I can understand why you'd be so angry with your local hunt, no question. However I don't think your comment about Robert's name is warranted so tut tut from me.
There seems to be the usual division between the hunters. One group is above board, apply for their licences, wear high viz and follow the regulations Luckily, that seems to be the local chasse members I've seen. The other - and I suppose this applies everywhere as I've seen it all too often in Malta - are just the gung-ho, let's have an alcohol fuelled hunting frenzy and kill anything that moves idiots who cause a lot of the problems. It's a shame the officials can't jump all over them. I would understand the difficulty if it was 1 or 2 men sneaking around before dawn but with large groups in daylight they must be easy enough to track down.