An 81-year-old man in France has been sentenced to four months in jail, suspended, and fined following his involvement in the shooting of a protected bear in the Pyrenees mountains. The incident occurred in 2021 during a boar hunt, where the hunter claimed to have acted in self-defense when the mother bear attacked him to protect her cubs.
The female brown bear, known as Caramelles, weighing about 150kg, was ultimately killed and preserved for display at the Toulouse Natural History Museum. In addition to the sentencing of the primary shooter, 15 other hunters involved in the incident were collectively fined over €60,000 (£51,000) due to a civil suit filed by environmental groups.
According to the proceedings at the Foix Criminal Court, the hunting group was located outside the designated hunting area when the bear attacked. Prosecutors pointed out that they were illegally hunting in a protected nature reserve. Despite this, the defense attorney for most hunters argued that there were insufficient signs indicating the prohibition of hunting in that area.
The hunter who shot the bear received a €750 fine, had his rifle confiscated, and has had his hunting license revoked. Bear-preservation organization Pays de l'ours expressed satisfaction with the verdict, emphasizing the importance of accountability for all hunters involved in the incident. With the bear population in the Pyrenees having drastically decreased in the past, this ruling serves as a reminder of the need for greater awareness within the hunting community regarding wildlife protection.
Historically, the brown bear population in the Pyrenees was critically low, diminishing to around 70 individuals by 1954, but thanks to conservation efforts, including the reintroduction of bears from Slovenia in the 1990s, their numbers have slowly rebounded, with recent estimates suggesting around 96 bears now inhabit the region.
The female brown bear, known as Caramelles, weighing about 150kg, was ultimately killed and preserved for display at the Toulouse Natural History Museum. In addition to the sentencing of the primary shooter, 15 other hunters involved in the incident were collectively fined over €60,000 (£51,000) due to a civil suit filed by environmental groups.
According to the proceedings at the Foix Criminal Court, the hunting group was located outside the designated hunting area when the bear attacked. Prosecutors pointed out that they were illegally hunting in a protected nature reserve. Despite this, the defense attorney for most hunters argued that there were insufficient signs indicating the prohibition of hunting in that area.
The hunter who shot the bear received a €750 fine, had his rifle confiscated, and has had his hunting license revoked. Bear-preservation organization Pays de l'ours expressed satisfaction with the verdict, emphasizing the importance of accountability for all hunters involved in the incident. With the bear population in the Pyrenees having drastically decreased in the past, this ruling serves as a reminder of the need for greater awareness within the hunting community regarding wildlife protection.
Historically, the brown bear population in the Pyrenees was critically low, diminishing to around 70 individuals by 1954, but thanks to conservation efforts, including the reintroduction of bears from Slovenia in the 1990s, their numbers have slowly rebounded, with recent estimates suggesting around 96 bears now inhabit the region.
