A family of brown bears like those who live in the Pyrenees. - Julian Cox - Solent News - Sipa

  • The prefect of Ariège has just authorized the reinforced scaring of bears on two summer pastures, a process contested by the defenders of the plantigrades.
  • Officers will be able to fire non-lethal shots to keep bears away from the herds.
  • Since the beginning of the year, 137 ewes have perished under the claws of a bear in the department.

Pan on the legs. The bears that roam the Ariège, near Bordes-Uchentein or Ustou, will have to find a new pantry. Chantal Mauchet, the prefect, indeed announced Monday evening that she authorized operations of “reinforced scaring” on these two summer pastures. As soon as the prefectural decree was signed, the brand new “brigade of six scarers”, made up of trained agents from the French Office for Biodiversity, took action on the heights.

The scaring is a recent device in the Pyrenees where it entered into force in 2019, only "on an experimental basis". The procedure has two levels: the simple scaring that shepherds can practice themselves with sirens and dazzling lights; then the reinforced phase during which OFB agents can carry out “non-lethal” shots, with “double detonation or rubber cartridges”.

Where a bear was slaughtered

And, of course, this way of keeping bears away from the herds to avoid predation is highly contested by friends of the plantigrades, who deem it ineffective and dangerous, for both bears and humans.

[Petition] Save the bears: stop the scaring! Https: //t.co/KJhcdaH4oS

- Renaud Orain (@renaudor) July 7, 2020

This decision to put the scarers in motion comes at a time when tensions between pro and anti plantigrades are exacerbated in the massif after the discovery, on June 9, of a bear shot dead in Ariège. In the commune of Ustou precisely.

The prefecture indicates that since the end of hibernation, "105 reports of damage to herds, involving 137 sheep" have been drawn up.

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