French hunter avoids jail after shooting man he mistook for a boar
- Julien Feral shot dead Morgan Keane while he was chopping wood on his land; Feral was given a two-year suspended sentence and banned from hunting for life
- The verdict came days after government outlined tighter rules for the sport, as controversy grows over what remains a proud tradition in France’s countryside
A French hunter on Thursday avoided prison over the killing of a Franco-British man he had mistaken for a boar, disappointing relatives and friends who had wanted a stiffer penalty.
Morgan Keane, 25, was shot dead in December 2020 in southwestern France by Julien Feral, 35, while he was chopping wood on his land.
The verdict came days after the French government outlined tighter rules for the sport designed to prevent such accidents, as controversy grows over what for many remains a proud tradition of France’s countryside.
Feral was given a two-year suspended sentence and banned from hunting for life following his trial for involuntary homicide in the southwestern French town of Cahors.
Meanwhile the organiser of the hunt received an 18-month suspended sentence and a five-year hunting ban. Prosecutors had called for both men to serve at least some jail time.
“The justice system has done its work” within the limits of existing laws, said Benoit Coussy, lawyer for Keane’s brother. “Now lawmakers have to do their work and create a specific ‘hunting offence’ that could allow harsher punishments,” he added.