A soldier shot by a hunter. “They hunt in areas where artillery exercises are conducted.”

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It is known that two men will be held responsible for the death of the 21-year-old soldier. The prosecutor’s office brought charges against them. – One of them was charged with unintentional manslaughter, failure to provide help, and committing a crime of exposing other people to direct danger of loss of life and poaching – informs Piotr Wieczorkiewicz from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin.

The man with more serious charges allegedly shot the soldier in the neck. Despite 40 minutes of resuscitation, the 21-year-old could not be saved. It is still only unofficially known that both men, including the one with milder charges, are hunters. They had a contract with the army. They came because of the wild boars. – Maybe someone called someone for help, because, for example, the soldiers were afraid of a wild boar and called a company that was supposed to scare the boar away – hypothesizes Ryszard Czeraszkiewicz, an urban hunter in Szczecin.

READ ALSO: Death of a 21-year-old soldier. Charges for two men

To kill an animal, official consent is required. No one asked for this. – As for the decision issued for the army, there was no such application – informs Paulina Łątka from the City Hall in Szczecin. The Polish Hunting Association states that there was no question of hunting here. He also initiated proceedings in this case. “The detained are employees of one of the companies involved in catching and killing wild boars in urban areas,” reads an excerpt from the statement of the Polish Hunting Association.

Is this another tragic case of a hunter mistaking a human for a wild boar? And this in a military area? Marcin Kostrzyński, a naturalist and animal lover who gave up hunting many years ago, is not surprised. – In Toruń, mushroom pickers are not allowed to enter the training ground, but hunters are allowed. They hunt in the areas where artillery exercises are carried out – explains Marcin Kostrzyński, naturalist, “Niech Żyją!” coalition.

The list of reports of mistaking a wife, friend, bison, horse or tractor for a wild boar is growing. – I know families of people who died after being shot by a hunter. There are always several such fatal accidents every year, with injuries ranging from a dozen to several dozen – argues Tomasz Zdrojewski, coalition “Let them live!”.

The act from five years ago assumed that hunters, just like security guards, would have to undergo periodic eye examinations and psychological tests, among other things. – Hunters themselves believe that four out of 10 hunters are not actually able to hunt due to health reasons – emphasizes Marcin Kostrzyński.

The Sejm of the previous term surreptitiously repealed the provision on examinations. 130,000 Polish hunters can shoot without regular tests. This has to change, says lawyer Karolina Kuszlewicz and proposes more changes. – Exclusion of those areas that have such special social importance, for example suburban forests, from hunting altogether. These should be areas that are clearly safe for residents, emphasizes Karolina Kuszlewicz, a lawyer from the “Nad Wisłą” law firm. The prosecutor’s office demands that the hunter accused of the soldier’s death remain in custody.