A cyclist has been seriously injured in northern Spain after he was shot by a hunter who mistook him for a wild boar.
The 54-year-old mountain bike rider was passing through a forest near Girona on Sunday morning, when he was hit in the abdomen with a projectile.
He was transferred by helicopter to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Girona, and is no longer in a critical condition, according to a report from Cadena SER. The paramedics are said to have declared it "a miracle" that he survived.
The Spanish police forces have since seized the hunter’s weapon, and are investigating the incident.
According to the park authorities, the cyclist had ridden into an authorised hunting area, where he was shot from a distance of 36 metres shortly after 9am. The hunter is understood to have had an unclear sight of the cyclist, and confused him with a wild boar. He is now under investigation for negligence and recklessly causing serious injury.
The police are also looking to determine whether the hunt was adequately signposted to pedestrians.
A statement from the Girona branch of the Catalan Hunting Federation said the cyclist “had been informed” that he was entering a hunting zone.
“The hunt that took place in the area was properly communicated and signposted,” the statement said. “The federation has repeatedly expressed to the Catalan government the lack of respect it has shown for properly signalled raids.
“We understand and defend the importance of living together outdoors and, for this reason, we must respect each other’s rights and duties.”
The injured cyclist, who is believed to still be in hospital, is yet to comment on the incident. A report from Catalan news source 3Cat says he underwent surgery on Monday and is still recovering.
Carles Compaña, president of the victim's mountain bike club, said the incident is "not an isolated case". "Unfortunately, it is a recurring event. We need to find new regulations to be able to live together," he said.
The wild boar hunting season runs from September to March in Catalonia, with at least 200,000 believed to live in the region.
In September last year, a 46-year-old man was fatally shot in Arbúcies, near Girona, when a hunter mistook him for a boar by a stream. The following month, further west in the Basque Country, a 75-year-old woman died after she was hit in the head by a stray bullet from a wild boar hunt.
