Hobby hunters shoot child and horse

Horse mistaken for wild boar

In the small village of Bauler in the Eifel region, a tragic incident occurred on the night of 9 September, in which a hobby hunter accidentally shot a 2-year-old Western horse, having mistaken it for a wild boar.

Viviane Bastin is completely unable to explain the confusion with a wild boar. “He must have disregarded all safety measures, such as identifying the animal before firing. It is unthinkable what would have happened if I had been camping there with my grandchildren!”

The police are investigating on suspicion of violating the Animal Welfare Act and causing criminal damage.

Child shot in Kröv

According to charges filed in July 2022, a hobby hunter from a village on the Middle Moselle wanted to test his newly acquired small-calibre rifle on his property. One of the test shots went astray. The projectile flew onto an adjacent village road, where it struck a child riding past on a bicycle. The child had to undergo emergency surgery. A nerve in the leg is reported to have been irreparably damaged by the gunshot wound.

Eight months suspended sentence

He was required to answer for the incident before the Wittlich District Court. He was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended, after having also confessed to the act in court.

The Bernkastel-Wittlich district administration, as the issuing authority for the firearms licence and hunting licence, stated that the use of a weapon within residential areas violates applicable hunting law and would accordingly be penalised with the revocation of the hunting licence. IG Wild beim Wild systematically documents hunting accidents and criminal offences.

Further articles

More current hunting accidents and documented criminal offences involving hobby hunters can be found here: Chronicle of hunting accidents and criminal offences at Abschaffung der Jagd as well as in the Chronicle of hunting accidents in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at PETA.