A neighbour of mine once said of the hunt or "chasse" that took place in the adjoining fields that the morning session is safe but after a calvados lunch they often shoot each other by mistake!

Now I read last week that an "anti-chasse" organisation is calling for the banning of hunting on Sundays, as well as other measures after an increase in the number of accidents due to hunters and possibly the result of the liquid lunch my neighbour spoke of.

In a statement, the "Association pour la Protection des Animaux Sauvages" (APAS) said that in the hunting season 21 people were killed, with all but two being hunters themselves.

In total there were 179 accidents in the last hunting season, compared to 143 for the season before, and APAS says change is necessary.

The organisation is calling for a ban of hunting on Sundays, as it believes with more people taking up cycling, walking and outdoor past-times, France needs to change.

NOTE: don't wear those reindeer antlers you thought were so much fun at xmas time whilst riding your bike through the undergrowth!

APAS says that France is the only country in Europe where hunting is allowed on every day of the week. They also say that the law should be changed to make local hunting bodies more responsible for accidents, firmer regulation should be introduced to ban hunting close to property and that hunters should be required to take regular eye tests!

Blog submitted by: David at Cle France.