Saillon: Hobby hunter shoots llama instead of deer
A 130-kilogram llama was mistaken for a small deer in the canton of Valais. The animal, named Christopher, was taken from a farmer in Saillon on Saturday, 9 November.
Patrice Bruchez is well known in the Lower Valais region, primarily because he has been lovingly breeding a herd of llamas for years. He gives his animals the names of politicians: «Oskar», «Doris», «Reynard» or «Christopher» (a nod to Christophe Darbellay, the cantonal councillor).
Hunting dog chases llama into the forest
Patrice's llamas live on the plain in an enclosure. They are sometimes seen on the slopes of Saillon, on a fenced plot at the edge of the forest. Apparently there was a hole in the fence. A hunting dog is said to have startled the llama and driven it in a panic into the forest, where «Christopher» was then shot by the hobby hunter.
The hobby hunter instructed his insurance company to compensate the owner. There is also a possibility that his hunting licence will be revoked permanently.
About Saillon in Valais
Saillon is a political municipality and a bourgeois commune in the district of Martigny, in the French-speaking part of the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The former German name Schellon is no longer in use today. The wine-growing municipality is home to four thermal baths.
The commune houses the smallest official vineyard in Switzerland, located on the Colline Ardente («Burning Hill») above the medieval village centre. The Vigne à Farinet measures 1.615 m² and is planted with three vines. It is the property of the Dalai Lama. Its upkeep is carried out in a high-profile manner by celebrities such as Claudia Cardinale, Roger Moore, Zinédine Zidane and Michael Schumacher.
Such cases of mistaken identity by hobby hunters are becoming increasingly common in Switzerland. Just recently, a billy goat in Valais was also shot inside its enclosure.
