France to tighten its hunting laws, but won’t impose ban

PARIS (AP) — France’s government has unveiled new plans to tighten hunting safety rules but stopped well short of the outright ban that many activists had been hoping for. Ecology Minister Berangere Couillard announced proposed reforms that would outlaw hunting under the influence of alcohol and drugs, enhance safety rules and provide extra protections for walkers and residents in areas used by hunters. Hunting safety became a hot topic in France after the 2020 death of Morgan Keane, a 25-year-old Franco-British man who was shot dead while cutting wood on his own land by hunters who had mistaken him for a wild boar. The proposed reforms unveiled Monday have been branded as lukewarm by anti-hunting activists.