“We need to provide technical solutions to bad habits”

L’ancien capitaine de gendarmerie Philippe Grailhe intervient maintenant au profit de la FDC30. Midi Libre – Alexis Béthune

Officier de gendarmerie à la retraite et chasseur, Philippe Grailhe sensibilise les adeptes
to security.

As part of his duties as a gendarmerie officer, Philippe Grailhe received specific training in shooting and ballistics. Now retired, the former soldier, who spent most of his career in the region, himself a hunter, puts his experience to the service of the Gard Departmental Hunting Federation (FDC30).

A volunteer collaborator, Philippe Grailhe is notably at the origin of an agreement between hunters and the gendarmerie on the subject of controls and the application of regulations in the field: transport of weapons, vehicles, etc. The agreement has still been in force for four or five years.

The number of hunting accidents is decreasing

“With nearly 590,000 hectares, the Gard is a relatively large department, made up of very different hunting territories and biotopes, explains the former officer. We have plains, vineyards, large agricultural areas in the center and the south. The north of the Cévennes is more of a forest area and mountain.”

Nearly 18,800 hunters are considered active. Most of them practice several hunting methods (small and big game, migratory birds, water hunting, etc.) and 13,300 practice big game hunting (especially wild boar).

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

A type of hunting that is not without risk, if one ignores the most basic safety rules. “It is true that the ammunition used for wild boar is close to war calibers. But the powders used in civilian or military cartridges to propel the projectile are different.”

The expert in ammunition and ballistics details: “The projectile, that is to say, the bullet, does not have the same physical properties either. In order to avoid ricochets, when hunting we use expansive projectiles, which crush. We then say that they “mushroom”, unlike war ammunition which, with a greater velocity, is more perforating.”

Training and assistance to improve safety

Safety is therefore an essential and constant concern. “For example, hunt leaders, but not only, receive training on regulations, analyses of past accidents, accident-prone behaviors, shooting angles to be respected, the concept of aiming shots to be applied, i.e. towards the ground, the positioning of posted hunters according to the topography of the terrain…”

The FDC30 and the Region provide financial support for initiatives for safe hunting. “In 2023, €8,600 was spent on the construction of watchtowers, or on the purchase of signage and equipment. Since 2021, there have been no fatal accidents in the Gard.”

Bad habits to get rid of

On December 15, a hunter who was traveling with his loaded weapon fell. The result was that the shot went off and the man was injured. “This type of behavior is accident-prone. We have two types of accidents: those related to carelessness or negligence and those related to non-compliance with safety measures.”

Various sanctions may apply to offending hunters. “With the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), the Nîmes and Alès public prosecutors, the FDC30 has signed an agreement for alternative training courses to criminal prosecution for hunters. A technical response must be provided to bad habits. Some practices need to be corrected, we are working on it.”

 

The Gard, a hunting territory

The Gard department is divided into 713 hunting territories that are members of the Gard departmental hunting federation.

There are no fewer than 382 communal hunting societies, 325 private hunting societies and six approved communal hunting associations (Acca). A seventh is being created in Saint-Bénézet and four others are well advanced in their projects.

The FDC30 pays, each year, for the damage caused by wild boars, a sum of between 250,000 and 300,000 €.

In the Gard, more than 30,000 wild boars, considered to be in a state of overpopulation, are shot each year.