French hunters who accidentally shot Brit ‘reported his death because he was English’

A French hunting party who accidentally shot a Briton treated his death as “less serious” because he was English, a lawyer for the victim’s family said.

French fighter Julien Féral (35) yesterday apologized for shooting Morgan Keane (25) dead in 2020 and told the court: “It scared me for life”.

Keane’s death sparked outrage when he was shot dead while chopping wood near his home in the town of Calvignac, south-west France.

Two men – the man who fired the fatal shot and the 51-year-old organizer of the hunt – both went on trial in the nearby city of Cahors on Thursday on charges of involuntary manslaughter.

If found guilty, they face up to three years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.

Benoît Coussy, lawyer for Keane’s younger brother Rowan, said before the trial: “The fact that the Keane brothers’ father was English seems to have made this murder less serious in their eyes.”

He added in court: “Morgan’s life ended in the woods cutting wood. But the story did not begin there, but several years earlier when Morgan’s father politely asked the hunters to shoot elsewhere.

“He was a foreigner and … not a hunter and the hunting world is pretty wild. If you are not a hunter, you are against the hunt.”

The indictment says Keane was cutting wood on his private property in Garrigues, near Calvignac, at around 4.30pm when Féral fired the shot that killed him, believed to have been fired at a pig 75 meters away with A Remington pump to shoot action. gun.

It also says Keane’s late father Michael, who was registered as British when he died in July 2019, argued with local hunters two years earlier, telling them they were getting too close to his land.

The shooter told the court: “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it, it scares me for life. Excuse me.’ He admitted that he “did not identify the target.”

The case has sparked tensions between anti-hunting activists and defenders of a rural hobby and practice that farmers believe is necessary to curb populations of deer and wild boar.

During the busy times of the hunting season, the noise of gunfire echoes across much of the French countryside, prompting many hikers to avoid wooded areas for their own safety.

“A lot of people are supporting us,” said Audrey Tindiliere, a member of a collective restriction campaign launched after Keane’s death.

“Eighty percent of people support stricter regulation of hunting to improve the rural community with hunters,” she told AFP before the hearing.

Prosecutors asked that both defendants receive two-year sentences with 18 months of probation, highlighting “the seriousness of the failures that led to Morgan Keane’s death.”

The verdict is expected on January 12.

In this file photo taken on December 4, 2021, a friend holds a portrait of Morgan Keane as he leads a procession to pay tribute to the young man, a year after he was killed by two hunters in Cajarc, south-west France , was killed.

Keane was shot dead while chopping wood near his home in the town of Calvignac, south-west France. Pictured: View of a road through La Garrigue (near Calvignac)

Hunters form a powerful political lobby in France through the National Federation of Hunters (FNC).

Willy Schraen, head of the FNC, called for an “exemplary verdict” in the Keane case, an acknowledgment of strong public sentiment surrounding the death.

“We keep out hunters who do not follow the most basic rules. It must not happen again. It is unacceptable that this mistake led to the death of a man,” he said.

“If you don’t know what you’re shooting at, don’t shoot.”

Keane, whose father was British and his mother French, was within the boundaries of his property.

According to the French government’s Office of Biodiversity, the number of hunting accidents has decreased over the past 20 years.

The 2021/22 season saw 90 accidents, eight of which were fatal, including two non-combatants, the figures show.

Last month, a British woman was accidentally shot dead by her French boyfriend while hunting wild boar in northern France.

And on October 9, a 62-year-old hunter was shot in the stomach while picking mushrooms in the Drôme village of Vinsobres.

Also in October, a 33-year-old mother and her young children were injured while hunting small game in the Rhône, according to Le Bien Public.

In February, a 25-year-old woman died instantly after being hit by a hunter’s bullet while walking with a friend on a marked trail near Aurillac in the Cantal region.

Britain’s Jacqueline Taylor (67), who died last month, succumbed to a gunshot wound “above the heart” after her partner Pierrot Philippot (69) fired his shoulder gun in her direction while he was hunting.

Philippot, who is charged with manslaughter, is the chairman of the Goudelin-Bringolo hunt and organized the wild boar hunt near the couple’s home in Goudelin, Brittany.

Miss Taylor was admitted to hospital in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, but succumbed to her injuries at around 12pm.

Jacqueline Taylor (67) (left) died on Sunday from a gunshot wound “above the heart” after her partner Pierrot Philippot (69) (right) fired his shoulder gun in her direction while he was hunting.

A source said: “The hunters were walking through a field of wheat silage when the leader of the hunt fired his shoulder gun to the rear.

The shot hit his partner and the bullet caused a penetrating wound over her heart. She was taken to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries.

Philippot, who has hunted in the area since he was young, has been released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.

Philippot, who has been hunting in the area since he was young, has been released on bail pending the investigation

The hunting party consisted of a dozen hunters and two guests, prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said.

Laurent Le Faucheur, mayor of Goudelin, said Philippot was “devastated by the accident”.

Mr Le Faucheur said: “It’s a terrible shock for us all. I knew the couple well.

“Jacqueline came from the UK about seven years ago and was very happy in the village.

“She had a horse and they both shared other animals, including dogs and cats.

“What happened is devastating. I was called quickly, I came immediately, because a hunting accident is of course a sensitive subject.

“A full investigation is underway.”