Volkswacht Bodensee - French hunter on trial for killing mother bear 'in self-defence'

The brown bear is a protected species in the mountain range, which separates France and Spain.

Andre Rives was boar-hunting when a female bear nicknamed Caramelles attacked him.

On November 20, 2021 two bear cubs emerged from the woods in front of Rives. Then their mother appeared, charging at him and dragging him for several metres. He shot and killed the animal.

Rives sustained leg injuries, and a fellow hunter gave him first aid before he was evacuated by helicopter.

According to the investigation, the bear was killed 400 metres (1,300 feet) outside an authorised hunting area.

"This is not an anti-bear or pro-bear trial," the presiding judge said. Rives is on trial for "destroying a protected species," he said.

Fifteen other hunters who also took part in the hunt were being prosecuted for various offences, including hunting in the Mont-Valier nature reserve, one of the oldest reserves in the Pyrenees.

Around 20 associations had filed a lawsuit.

Jean-Luc Fernandez, president of a local hunting federation, said Rives killed the bear in self-defence.

"He fired," he said. "He should have let her do it? No, he saved his own skin."

Activists contest the notion of self-defence.

"To what extent can one argue necessity, when one has committed a series of offences that led to the death of the bear Caramelles?" asked Alain Reynes of the bear-preservation association Pays de l'ours.

Animal rights activists view bears as integral to maintaining a fragile mountain ecosystem that is under threat from human activity and climate change.

According to estimates from 2023, there are more than 80 bears currently in the Pyrenees.

Bears had nearly disappeared from the mountain range before France began a reintroduction programme in the 1990s, importing them from Slovenia.

But the presence of bears has led to increasing tensions with farmers because of the threat they pose to their livestock.

Julie Rover, a lawyer representing some of the associations, said the animal rights' activists wanted to send a message.

"They are not opposed to hunting, but for it not to harm the environment, its rules must be respected," Rover said.

"Bears are threatened with extinction -- the disappearance of a breeding female is serious."

The trial is scheduled to last until Wednesday.

O.Schlaepfer--VB