Guilty of killing a protected bear: hobby hunter convicted in the Pyrenees
A court in France has sentenced a hobby hunter who was attacked by a brown bear to four months imprisonment on probation for the fatal shots he fired at the animal.
Although the man was seriously injured in the biting attack in the Pyrenees in 2021, the court in Foix in southern France convicted him of killing a protected wild animal.
«It was self-defence»
On the witness stand, the retiree testified that he had opened fire in self-defence on the 150-kilogram bear, which had two cubs. «She grabbed me by the left thigh, I panicked and fired a shot from the rifle. She backed away and growled, she circled around me and bit me in the right calf, I fell, she bit me in the leg, I cocked my rifle and fired. She died five metres further down,» said the hobby hunter.
In addition to the four-month suspended sentence, the court also ordered him to pay a fine of 750 euros, the confiscation of his hunting rifle, and the revocation of his hunting licence.
The court found the shooter and 15 other hobby hunters guilty of illegally entering a mountain region to hunt wild boar, where all hunting is prohibited.
Prohibited hunting in a protected zone
The hobby hunter had knowingly accepted the risk of a confrontation with the bear in the reserve, which serves as a refuge zone for bears, the prosecutor said. For various violations of hunting regulations, the remaining 15 hobby hunters must collectively pay a fine of 60,000 euros (56,200 CHF).
In 2008, another hobby hunter was brought to trial for having shot a female bear in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques four years earlier. After being acquitted at first instance, he was convicted on appeal and ordered to pay various nature conservation associations compensation of 10,000 euros. The hunting association to which he belonged had been ordered to pay 53,000 euros in damages for the death of Cannelle.
After brown bears had practically become extinct in the French and Spanish parts of the Pyrenees years ago, environmental authorities estimated the population at around 100 animals in their latest annual report.
