Boy accidentally shot in head on hunting trip in France

Published on: September 18, 2017

The boy was shot on Sunday morning near the western village of Triaize
He was airlifted to a hospital in Nantes but later died of his injuries
It comes a day after man, 57, died on a hunting trip on the other side of France

By Joe Sheppard For Mailonline

Published: 13:02 BST, 18 September 2017 | Updated: 18:44 BST, 18 September 2017

A teenager was killed when he was accidentally shot in the head by his own grandfather during a hunting trip.

The boy, 13, was shot as he bent over to pick up a bird that had been shot, near the small village Triaize, western France, on Sunday morning.

He was airlifted to a hospital 65 miles away, in Nantes, where he later died. An investigation has been launched into how the incident took place.

A teenager has been killed after he was accidentally shot in the head by his grandfather during a hunting trip on the opening weekend of France's season (stock image)

A teenager has been killed after he was accidentally shot in the head by his grandfather during a hunting trip on the opening weekend of France’s season (stock image)

The boy’s death is the second to take place on the opening weekend of France’s hunting season after a 57-year-old man was killed when he fell into a ravine in the country’s south western Alpes-Maritimes region on Saturday.

And in the Var region, in the south east, another man and his 12-year-old son were injured when they were hit by stray bullets. Their injuries were not fatal.

The incidents will likely fuel campaigns for a change in France’s hunting laws.

The head of the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals (APWA), Pierre Athanaze, told The Local previously: ‘Hunting needs to be stopped on Sundays, because this is the most dangerous day.

‘There are more and more people heading out into the countryside on a Sunday, whether it’s for walking, mountain biking or collecting mushrooms. We want an end to it.’