André Rives, an 81-year-old French hunter, is on trial after killing an endangered bear in the Pyrenees.
Newsweek has contacted the Ariège farmers’ union and an attorney representing several bear charities.
Why It Matters
According to the French Biodiversity Agency, in 2023, there were more than 80 bears in the Pyrenees, a chain of mountains in southwestern Europe that borders France and Spain. The brown bear is a protected species in the mountain range.
Brown bears had almost entirely disappeared from the Pyrenees before France began a reintroduction program in the 1990s, bringing bears in from Slovenia. Conflict has existed between the pro-bear lobby and farmers and hunters ever since, as farmers argue that bears threaten their livestock.
What To Know
In November 2021, Rives was boar-hunting when he encountered several bears. After two cubs emerged from the woods, a female bear nicknamed Caramelles charged at Rives and dragged him several meters.
Rives, who shot and killed the bear, was subsequently charged with destroying a protected animal.
At the time of the incident, Rives and other hunters were inside a no-hunting section of the mountain forest. One of the hunters co-accused with Rives of taking part in the illegal hunt told the court that they were unaware they had entered the conservation zone because the limits were unclear.
British outlet The Times reported that the hunters’ hounds had brought the 10-month-old cubs out of the woods.
Describing the moment in court, Rives said he was looking at the cubs with admiration and had made himself small. Then, the bears’ mother saw Rives and attacked him.
Bears are viewed by animal welfare activists as being integral to the fragile mountain ecosystem, which is under threat both from human activity and the climate crisis.
Sun Yung Lazare, the presiding judge in the case, told the court that the trial’s concern was whether the hunters had illegally killed the bear. She said, as quoted by Agence France-Presse, “This is not an anti-bear or pro-bear trial.”
What People Are Saying
André Rives said in court, according to AFP: “She [the bear] grabbed my left thigh, I panicked and fired a shot. She backed away growling, she went around me and bit my right calf. I fell, she was eating my leg. I reloaded my rifle and fired.”
Julie Rover, a lawyer representing 12 of the pro-bear charities, said: “Bears are threatened with extinction—the disappearance of a breeding female is serious.”
Alain Reynes of the bear-preservation association Pays de l’ours said in court: “To what extent can one argue necessity, when one has committed a series of offences that led to the death of the bear Caramelles?”
Jean-Luc Fernandez, the head of the Ariège hunting federation, said, according to The Times: “A bear is dead. A man is alive. It’s sad, but I prefer that to the other way around.”
What Happens Next
The trial is scheduled to end on March 19. If convicted, Rives faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
This article by Marni Rose McFall was first published by Newsweek on 19 March 2025. Lead Image: A brown bear resting at the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti, about 112 miles north of Bucharest, Romania, on October 16, 2024. MIHAI BARBU/AFP via Getty Images.
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