Hunter who mistook 25-year-old man for a BOAR and fatally shot him faces up to three years in prison
LA GARRIGUE, FRANCE: A French hunter who mistook a 25-year-old British man for a boar and shot him dead in December 2020 could now be convicted of manslaughter. Morgan Keane, 25, a resident of La Garrigue near the village of Calvignac north of Toulouse was cutting wood outside his house when he was shot in the chest.
Keane succumbed to his injuries instantly. Following the incident, the unnamed hunter, 33, as well as the head of the hunting party were arrested, reported the Daily Mail. Now, they are both set to stand trial for manslaughter. If convicted, they could face three years in jail. This comes after Keane's friends launched a campaign calling for the regulation of guns through new laws in France.
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Beniot Coussy, their lawyer, alleged that the hunting party's organizers intentionally planned the hunt in the vicinity of Keane's home after the latter's late father had complained about them shooting close to their home in 2017. Notably, there are no laws in place that dictate the minimum distance for shooting near homes, but sources reveal that a 150m distance was followed in several places.
While Keane's death brought to light the flaws around hunting provisions, prompting appeals for hunting safety, the influential hunting lobby is backed by powerful names, including the President of the county, Emmanuel Macron. As a result, most calls for reform have been ignored or dismissed. Those campaigning against hunting have also asked for a ban on all shooting activities within the range of properties as well as a complete end to hunting on Sundays and Wednesdays when most children are not at school.
This case could become really big in France. Morgan was the son of a friend of mine, and better regulation of *la chasse* would be a great memorial to him. #unjourlachassehttps://t.co/b3YuXyMGvP via @ladepechedumidi
— Chris Gough (@clickoncopy) September 28, 2022
A campaign, 'Un Jour, Un Chausseur (One Day, One Hunter)' started by Keane's friends filed a petition prompting a senate inquiry. However, their efforts were met with failure after all their demands were quashed. According to the Daily Mail, they criticized the 140-page report compiled by the senate, saying, "We feel insulted... we feel all the more wounded because we lost someone close to us because of hunting," further describing the report as "indecent."
Now that the killers of the 25-year-old Briton will be tried, his friends hope that the court makes an example of them and also penalizes them with a lifetime ban. Keane's younger brother, Rowan, has called for the killer to be tried for murder. According to the his friends, Keane lived alone with his younger brother after the death of their parents. One friend named Lilliane told local media that he "had been very close to his parents," adding that Keane "cared for his mother, and stayed at his father's bedside and watched over him until the end." The devoted son was also a wonderfully creative musician.