2023-10-03 08:21:14
Neighboring France
Driver fined for trying to run over wolf
A 41-year-old man deliberately changed lanes to hit the animal, which he brushed past. He said he just wanted to show it to his children, but the court didn’t believe him.
PublishedOctober 3, 2023, 10:21
This is a video which showed the driver trying to run over the wolf on a secondary road. Illustrative image.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
The Annecy court sentenced a motorist to pay 8,000 euros for trying to run over a wolf, a protected species in France. The 41-year-old man will have to pay this sum, as damages, divided between four environmental protection associations which had become civil parties. He will also have to complete a citizenship course.
The driver defended himself at the hearing by explaining that he never wanted to hit the animal. He also claimed to have turned around to film it and show it to his children.
The animal was able to escape
An investigation was opened in March by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB), following receiving this video showing him trying to run over a wolf on a departmental road. We saw, according to the Annecy public prosecutor’s office, “a driver who deliberately changed his route and voluntarily moved into the opposite lane in order to hit the animal crossing the road. The driver missed the wolf by a few centimeters, which fled by passing under a fence at the last minute.
Among the civil parties, the animal rights association One Voice said it was “satisfied” with the decision of the Annecy court. “Tormenting wolves and attempting to kill them is wrong. Our view of animals must change,” she wrote in a press release.
“Attempted unlawful destruction of a protected species” is an offense punishable by three years of imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros.
(AFP)Show comments
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