Nineteen bison who had been wandering since Wednesday near Megève, Haute-Savoie, were shot dead Friday morning for safety, their return to their breeding area was not possible, reported the prefecture. The flock was first evaluated on Thursday at twenty animals.
"The flock, irremovable, was shot without incident or injury among those mobilized," said shortly before 10 am Aurélie Lebourgeois, cabinet director of the prefect. The bison had not moved much in the night. The operation took place at 9 o'clock in the Mont-Joux sector, with the participation of "three agents of the National Office of Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS), four lieutenants of the Louvre and 25 gendarmerie to secure the area, "said the prefecture in a statement.
The agents used moderators to reduce the sound of firing. "It was certainly not a pleasant operation for these professionals, but it was necessary," added Ms. Lebourgeois.
A little later, Reeve Pierre Lambert "praised the coolness and professionalism (personnel) that helped end the danger situation caused by the presence of these wild animals."
The breeder will have to pay
The bison, weighing between 300 and 600 kg, including two bison, escaped under unsolved conditions in the area where they were raised. The prefecture first tried to turn them back to their pen with the help of ONCFS agents. But "bison do not maneuver like a herd of cows," said Aurélie Lebourgeois Thursday night. Even if the herd remained far from inhabited areas, the prefecture could not exclude that hikers cross them and possibly be loaded. The option of falling asleep has been studied but abandoned. It was indeed necessary to predict very large quantities of anesthetic product, with the risk of not touching a zone of the body where it would have spread quickly, explained Aurélie Lebourgeois.
The prefecture therefore resolved Thursday night to set up their slaughter. The slaughtered herd represented almost all the cattle of the breeder Dominique Muffat-Méridol, from the Sasse estate. He raises them, slaughters them, and serves their meat in the restaurant of the estate. The bison had "never caused any problem" in more than a quarter century of presence at the estate, "while they escaped more than once," he said on RTL
For him, this case is "a shame, we are in the absurdity of regulation [...] we walk on the head". The breeder assured to have "a lot of suffering, because it takes away my work tool". Moreover, confirmed the prefecture, that the meat of slaughtered bison can not be consumed, since the slaughter took place "except slaughterhouse and without prior sanitary control". In addition, it was added, "the owner is liable for their flight and [...] thus incurred expenses for the operations" of the morning.