Man fatally shot while taking part in hunt in Dordogne

A 49-year old farmer died after being shot in the stomach during a hunt in Dordogne, south-west France, on Sunday (November 3). 

The man, a resident of Coly-Saint-Amand, was taking part in a hunt organised by the local hunting federation when other participants heard a gunshot near his location.

They rushed towards the sound, where they found him seriously injured by a bullet in his stomach. 

Emergency services were called but the man was pronounced dead on the scene after attempts to revive him failed.

“No one knows what happened,” said the village’s mayor Vincent Geoffroid to media outlet France Bleu, but he believes it to be “a mishandling of his rifle,” and an accident. 

It comes after another farmer died after being shot in the head during a hunt in central France in October. 

Read more: Criminal inquiry after farmer killed during wild boar hunt in France

‘Lifelong hunter’

An inquiry into the Dordogne death is underway. “The exact causes of death remain to be determined,” said the public prosecutor in Périgord. 

The farmer, named only as Franck by local media, lived with his parents in the commune a few hundred metres away from where the shooting took place.

Villagers said he was a “lifelong hunter” who had participated in numerous events in the area. 

At the time of the incident – which happened mid-morning – Franck was situated by himself on the banks of the Chironde stream which runs near the village. 

Read more: 2024 hunting season in France: key information and calendar