An injured wild boar, knocked down and then finished off with a dagger: open letter to the Bar-sur-Loup Mayor

Mr François Wyszkowski
Bar-sur-Loup Mayor
Place de la tour
06620 Le Bar-sur-Loup

Vannes, 7 September 2022

Dear Mayor,

Our association has been alerted as to the disgraceful treatment that was given to a wild boar injured on a public road last week in Bar-sur-Loup.

In the middle of the night, on the Gourdon road, a motorcyclist hit a wild boar. Fortunately, the motorcyclist was not injured. The wild boar, clearly in shock, was still conscious and could have walked away unscathed.

However, the police made a call to a wildlife control officer who shot point-blank at the wild boar without killing it outright. He therefore was in agony for several minutes before finally being finished off with a dagger and left for dead on the side of the road.

It is unacceptable that this animal was shot when it clearly was not fatally injured by the collision. In this case, the human intervention responsible for his slow agony will have caused more suffering than the shock caused by the accident.

No legal regulation can justify the cruelty with which this wild boar was treated. This systematic answer to a lethal solution testifies to the lack of value given to the life of a sentient individual and of a broken relationship with wildlife.

Wild boars are indigenous animals, their presence is therefore absolutely necessary and legitimate. Difficulties linked to cohabitation between wild animals and human activities could be resolved in an ethical manner and with respect for biodiversity.

We thank you for your attention to this letter and ask that you accept our highest consideration, Mr Mayor.

Muriel Arnal
Founding President of One Voice

Translated from the French by Joely Justice