French hunter, 81, on trial for killing endangered bear that attacked him

An 81-year-old French hunter has gone on trial accused of killing an endangered bear that attacked him in the Pyrenees.

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

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

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

Rives sustained leg injuries and was in a state of shock. A fellow hunter managed to stem the bleeding before Rives was evacuated by helicopter.

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

The case has caused an uproar in the department of Ariège, where hunters have held demonstrations in support of Rives.

“This is not an anti-bear or pro-bear trial,” presiding judge Sun Yung Lazare said. Rives is on trial for “destroying a protected species”, she said.

When the cubs emerged, Rives told the court that he “looked at them with admiration”.

“I made myself very small,” he said. “Then the mother saw me. Our eyes met, she charged.”

He said he had no choice but to shoot.

“She 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,” he said. “I reloaded my rifle and fired.”

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.

About 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.”

The hunters also argued that the boundaries of the reserve were poorly marked.

“You never really know where you are,” one of them said.

Photographs shown at the hearing showed barely visible signage – red Rs for reserve painted on trees against a white background.

“Your obligation as a hunter is to know where you are hunting,” retorted prosecutor Olivier Mouysset.

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 the climate crisis.

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.