The Catalan Hunting Federation assures that the wild boar hunt that took place yesterday in Arbúcies (Girona) and that ended the life of a man, unrelated to the activity, had all the permits and was correctly signposted.
The victim was inside the hunting area, in an area with abundant vegetation, near a small sunken stream, and was not wearing any brightly colored or reflective clothing.
For reasons that are being investigated, he was accidentally hit by a projectile fired by one of the participants in the raid, a 53-year-old man, who wanted to kill a wild boar some 50 meters away. The hunter was arrested this Sunday by the Mossos d'Esquadra for an alleged reckless homicide.
The deceased is a 46-year-old man of Moroccan nationality who lived with other compatriots for rent in a farmhouse known as 'Can Pascol' located approximately one and a half kilometers from the scene.
It is unknown what he was doing in the shooting area and why he ignored the shots and the signs. Signs that, according to the mayor of the municipality, Pere Garriga, were present on all the roads and highways near the large area of the raid.
The regulations require that the shooting area be marked one day before the activity begins, which started this Sunday at six in the morning. According to municipal sources, the signs were already visible on Saturday at the 23 entrances, between roads and highways that delimited the area. The accident occurred around 9 in the morning in an area known as Can Riera de la Pineda.
As reported by the Catalan Caça Federation in a statement, the organizers of the raid requested and obtained last Friday "all the necessary permits" for its celebration.
They also ensure that the area "was correctly signposted" and complied with "all the regulations and requirements" necessary. They add that at the time of the events, all the participants were correctly positioned at the raid posts and in a marked area.
The Federació Catalana de Caça, on behalf of the hunting collective of Catalonia, wanted to convey its condolences to the family and environment of the victim for the tragic event. The entity has made its legal services available to the hunter and the organizing group. The statement urges respecting the signage to avoid accidents of this type.
The municipality of Arbúcies, one of the largest in Catalonia, occupies about 90 square kilometres. Counting all its highways and roads, including the main ones, the secondary ones and the dirt ones, it has more than 700 km. Forest roads occupy 280 kilometers.
