France seeks killer of bear shot in Pyrenees
Source:AFP Published: 2020/6/11 18:08:40
An autopsy was carried out Wednesday on a young brown bear discovered dead in the Pyrenees mountains with gunshot wounds, in a bid to identify its killer, local authorities said.
The creature was a male about 4 or 5 years old, weighing some 150-200 kilograms, according to Chantal Mauchet, a local official of the Ariege department of southwest France.
It was the second brown bear found dead in 2020 in the Pyrenees, where they are a protected species.
"Everything possible is being done to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators," said Laurent Dumaine, the prosecutor of the commune of Foix. The autopsy was performed at the veterinary school in Toulouse, the nearest big city.
An investigation has been opened for "unauthorized destruction of a protected species," said Dumaine. The crime is punishable by three years in jail and a fine of 150,000 euros ($170,000).
The bear, which was not wearing a tracking collar, was discovered Tuesday near a ski station close to the Spanish border by biodiversity officials investigating complaints from local farmers about sheep killings. It was evacuated by helicopter.
The state and animal activists said they would pursue criminal charges. "A bear was discovered shot dead," Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on Twitter and posted harrowing pictures of the dead animal.
"Bears are a protected species, this act is illegal and strongly condemned. The state will file a complaint," she said.
Close to extinction in the early 1990s, the brown bear was reintroduced to the Pyrenees in the early 1990s, with animals brought in from Slovenia. There are about 50 of them today, but their presence has caused tension with livestock farmers.
The other bear found dead in the Pyrenees in 2020, a male called Cachou, had been accused of several livestock killings. The cause of its death has not been divulged.
Animal rights defenders said the latest slaying was an act "by radical and violent bear opponents." But farmers say they are being left unprotected.
Skiers at the winter sports resort of Luz Ardiden in the Pyrenees massif in France Photo: AFP
The creature was a male about 4 or 5 years old, weighing some 150-200 kilograms, according to Chantal Mauchet, a local official of the Ariege department of southwest France.
It was the second brown bear found dead in 2020 in the Pyrenees, where they are a protected species.
"Everything possible is being done to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators," said Laurent Dumaine, the prosecutor of the commune of Foix. The autopsy was performed at the veterinary school in Toulouse, the nearest big city.
An investigation has been opened for "unauthorized destruction of a protected species," said Dumaine. The crime is punishable by three years in jail and a fine of 150,000 euros ($170,000).
The bear, which was not wearing a tracking collar, was discovered Tuesday near a ski station close to the Spanish border by biodiversity officials investigating complaints from local farmers about sheep killings. It was evacuated by helicopter.
The state and animal activists said they would pursue criminal charges. "A bear was discovered shot dead," Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on Twitter and posted harrowing pictures of the dead animal.
"Bears are a protected species, this act is illegal and strongly condemned. The state will file a complaint," she said.
Close to extinction in the early 1990s, the brown bear was reintroduced to the Pyrenees in the early 1990s, with animals brought in from Slovenia. There are about 50 of them today, but their presence has caused tension with livestock farmers.
The other bear found dead in the Pyrenees in 2020, a male called Cachou, had been accused of several livestock killings. The cause of its death has not been divulged.
Animal rights defenders said the latest slaying was an act "by radical and violent bear opponents." But farmers say they are being left unprotected.
Posted in: EUROPE