A driver from Haute-Savoie, France, is on trial for attempting to destroy a species after trying to run over a wolf with his car last March.
The driver faces up to three years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros, or about 220,800 Canadian dollars, according to French media 3.
In March 2023, the French Office for Biological Diversity (OFB), which tracks the species, received a video in which we saw the man, and therefore his car, trying to crush the animal.
The prosecution said in a statement issued on Sunday that this video showed a driver deliberately changing his lane and voluntarily swerving into the opposite lane to hit the animal crossing the road.
The coyote managed to escape by quickly running under the fence, according to CCTV footage that was used as part of the investigation.
“The wolf (Canis lupus) is a strictly protected species in France” since the decree of April 23, 2007 and “environmental law states that the attempted destruction is punishable by the same height as the destruction,” states the wooden floor.
The driver will have to go to court to answer for his actions.
