Life Savers in the Field: Defibrillators for Hobby Hunters
According to the report, hobby hunters in Catalonia in northeastern Spain are being equipped with portable defibrillators linked to GPS tracking during driven hunts. This allows an immediate response in the event of cardiac arrest and enables the precise location of the incident to be determined.
Cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of sudden death – rapid assistance is critical.
Every minute without resuscitation and defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by approximately 10%. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are designed so that even laypeople can operate them safely: the device automatically analyses the heart rhythm and provides clear acoustic instructions as to whether a shock should be delivered.
Hunting societies in the province of Girona are thus being equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for driven hunts, offered on loan by the Catalan hunting association.
The defibrillators are also geolocated to enable rapid intervention by emergency responders.
The chairman of the hunting association of Girona was quoted in the newspaper El Gerio as saying that driven hunts «generate moments of tension and physical exertion that can lead to cardiac risks» for hobby hunters He also emphasised that the initiative should «improve the safety of hunters and users of the natural environment».
Thanks to their geolocation, the devices can also be viewed on dedicated apps by other users of natural spaces. So if a hiker in the area experiences heart problems, their companions can locate nearby devices via the Infocaça application (hunting info in Catalan), which makes it possible to geolocate ongoing driven hunts.
