Dog shoots hunter in France

MESPLEDE, France — A hunter suffered gunshot wounds after his dog accidentally fired his rifle on Monday near a small town in southwestern France’s Basque Country, officials said.

“The hunter had set his rifle against a tree and went to collect a woodcock he had just shot,” the mayor of Mesplede, Regis Cassaroume, told AFP.

Police said the dog apparently knocked the rifle over and managed to trigger the weapon by stepping on it.

The hunter, a 61-year-old pensioner, received treatment at a nearby hospital for wounds to a hand and forearm.