Marc Sutton, 34, was killed in the French Alps while by a hunter’s stray bullet while riding his mountain bike near the Swiss border. His death prompted a temporary hunting ban in Montriond. Sutton’s friend and former BBC journalist, Katie Downs, lives close to where Sutton was riding his bike and states that, “our community has come together to try to bring about real change, in co-operation with the local hunt leaders”. The most surprising of all was that Sutton was riding his bike on a popular bike trail outside of the hunting zone. When I think of the Alps, I only know pleasant memories I have with my family every summer. The Alps have always been a place to enjoy the beautiful scenery for both locals and tourists. I have always been very fond of the Alps in Germany and never once thought hunting or anything negative could happen there. The title of this French article caught my attention when I saw the words “shooting” and “nowhere is safe” and found some very shocking news. Additionally, the article states that Sutton is the fourth person to die at the hands of the hunt since the season started last month. I find this extremely upsetting not only because the word hasn’t been spread enough, but there is not enough change being done about it. The only change reported was that 76% of locals in that community voted that hunting should be banned on weekends. I can only hope that this will be set in stone and results are shown. My personal belief is that the communities should keep the hunting ban permanently to avoid anymore accidents, worrying, and risks. After all, the gorgeous wild life is also apart of the Alps and should not be hunted. Although the hunting zones are said to be clearly sectioned off, I do not believe that this enough given the amount of deaths. The locals live there for a reason, and that being that they want to enjoy nature as it is without having to worry about getting shot once they step foot outside.
