An 81-year-old hunter in the Pyrenees mountain range of France has been sentenced to a suspended four-month jail term and fined for killing a protected brown bear. The hunter claimed he was acting in self-defense when the bear charged at him during a boar hunt in 2021, but the court determined he and his group were hunting illegally, well outside authorized areas.
The incident garnered significant attention when the bear, a 150kg female nicknamed Caramelles, was later preserved and placed on display at the Toulouse Natural History Museum. The Foix Criminal Court heard that when the hunter encountered the bear and her cubs, an attack ensued, leading him to discharge his firearm in a panic.
Despite the claim of danger, prosecutors noted that the group of hunters should not have been in that specific area. The hunter faced a fine of €750, and additional repercussions included the confiscation of his rifle and the revocation of his hunting license.
Following the ruling, other hunters involved in the incident were collectively fined over €60,000 to compensate environmental associations that filed civil suits against them. A representative from the bear-preservation association, Pays de l'ours, commented on the judgment, expressing satisfaction that all hunters were held accountable, which they hope will increase awareness within the hunting community.
The brown bear population in the Pyrenees has been the subject of conservation efforts, with only around 70 bears recorded in 1954. After a reintroduction initiative in the 1990s that saw the relocation of bears from Slovenia, numbers have gradually increased, with current estimates suggesting around 96 bears inhabit the area. The recent incident highlights ongoing tensions between wildlife preservation and hunting activities as the region grapples with ecological balance.
