Dubai Telegraph - French hunter on trial for killing mother bear 'in self-defence'

EUR -
AED 4.020422
AFN 77.142375
ALL 99.476233
AMD 428.621139
ANG 1.972506
AOA 1000.021678
ARS 1169.313822
AUD 1.720673
AWG 1.970368
AZN 1.863727
BAM 1.960858
BBD 2.209881
BDT 132.97546
BGN 1.956017
BHD 0.412645
BIF 3209.852387
BMD 1.094649
BND 1.458228
BOB 7.562786
BRL 6.207751
BSD 1.094463
BTN 94.698046
BWP 14.860879
BYN 3.581904
BYR 21455.116662
BZD 2.198452
CAD 1.56584
CDF 3147.115574
CHF 0.960665
CLF 0.026163
CLP 1004.000868
CNY 7.911898
CNH 7.912007
COP 4508.858445
CRC 545.82799
CUC 1.094649
CUP 29.008193
CVE 110.756417
CZK 25.032428
DJF 194.540981
DKK 7.459315
DOP 68.96303
DZD 146.101681
EGP 55.281515
ERN 16.419732
ETB 141.317141
FJD 2.497005
FKP 0.843085
GBP 0.842037
GEL 3.059595
GGP 0.843085
GHS 16.963727
GIP 0.843085
GMD 78.906816
GNF 9464.541659
GTQ 8.437088
GYD 229.089515
HKD 8.504939
HNL 27.989753
HRK 7.535531
HTG 143.693551
HUF 398.636618
IDR 17908.68265
ILS 4.018921
IMP 0.843085
INR 94.911177
IQD 1432.889992
IRR 46081.709712
ISK 146.436088
JEP 0.843085
JMD 171.187955
JOD 0.776123
JPY 163.387832
KES 141.688186
KGS 96.004109
KHR 4378.81423
KMF 493.053694
KPW 985.157255
KRW 1581.786802
KWD 0.33707
KYD 0.910361
KZT 545.911818
LAK 23709.267023
LBP 98023.860048
LKR 324.647229
LRD 218.821197
LSL 19.793291
LTL 3.232213
LVL 0.662142
LYD 5.266046
MAD 10.56719
MDL 19.88183
MGA 5095.51632
MKD 61.747066
MMK 2297.276334
MNT 3803.075585
MOP 8.760437
MRU 43.404432
MUR 49.290511
MVR 16.902813
MWK 1897.210498
MXN 21.806173
MYR 4.867573
MZN 69.92989
NAD 19.793291
NGN 1687.336529
NIO 40.25823
NOK 11.558304
NPR 151.929067
NZD 1.880872
OMR 0.421441
PAB 1.094649
PEN 3.998297
PGK 4.501599
PHP 62.656911
PKR 306.324546
PLN 4.193586
PYG 8699.405654
QAR 3.984709
RON 4.989162
RSD 117.462853
RUB 91.836151
RWF 1552.648394
SAR 4.104753
SBD 9.329534
SCR 15.728229
SDG 657.818552
SEK 10.992343
SGD 1.455969
SHP 0.860222
SLE 24.991183
SLL 22954.239392
SOS 624.953887
SRD 40.055601
STD 22657.020265
SVC 9.578206
SYP 14232.544373
SZL 19.793291
THB 36.768484
TJS 11.967813
TMT 3.827589
TND 3.372977
TOP 2.636225
TRY 40.164214
TTD 7.432862
TWD 36.085387
TZS 2909.44781
UAH 45.428459
UGX 4014.371256
USD 1.094649
UYU 46.665842
UZS 14178.11462
VES 71.409132
VND 27945.770014
VUV 134.886398
WST 3.043578
XAF 657.404926
XAG 0.032192
XAU 0.000361
XCD 2.96357
XDR 0.821752
XOF 657.404926
XPF 119.331742
YER 270.147278
ZAR 19.862414
ZMK 9853.15247
ZMW 31.345717
ZWL 352.47647
  • JRI

    -0.0200

    12.98

    -0.15%

  • CMSD

    -0.1500

    23.39

    -0.64%

  • CMSC

    -0.1100

    23.22

    -0.47%

  • BCC

    -0.6600

    99.34

    -0.66%

  • SCS

    -0.0800

    10.93

    -0.73%

  • NGG

    -0.3300

    63.81

    -0.52%

  • RBGPF

    0.3500

    66.78

    +0.52%

  • RIO

    0.6700

    64.14

    +1.04%

  • BCE

    0.0800

    23.78

    +0.34%

  • GSK

    0.1400

    40.39

    +0.35%

  • BTI

    -0.5800

    41.26

    -1.41%

  • RYCEF

    0.0600

    10.51

    +0.57%

  • RELX

    -0.6100

    48.99

    -1.25%

  • BP

    0.4600

    34.22

    +1.34%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    9.84

    -0.2%

  • AZN

    -0.3000

    77.07

    -0.39%

French hunter on trial for killing mother bear 'in self-defence'
French hunter on trial for killing mother bear 'in self-defence' / Photo: - - Pays de l'Ours/AFP/File

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

A 81-year-old French hunter went on trial on Tuesday, accused of killing an endangered female bear that had attacked him in the Pyrenees.

Text size:

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.

H.Yousef--DT