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The "bear plan" published in May 2018 was met with anger by shepherds who fear for their herds. Getty Images

The Ariège elected officials, called by local officials "anti-bear", demonstrated Tuesday, August 6 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, outside the headquarters of the prefecture region. They are calling for the removal of bears from their territory.

The predatory acts committed by these mammals multiply. This year, they caused the death of 638 ewes. The bear has never done as much damage to the flocks of the Pyrenees as today.

Contrary to what one might think, the majority of ewes do not die devoured, but by falling cliffs when they try to escape the bear. And it is in Ariège that the balance sheet is the most alarming since 90% of bear attacks took place in this department located on the border with Spain.

Farmers are therefore worried and demoralized by the losses of their animals. They fear the worst for the future of their profession. Many did not have a choice: they favored the raising of their herds in the building and no longer in the mountains for fear that the bear would attack them.

Today, there are only fifty of these mammals in the Pyrenees. Since 2018, a "bear" plan has been established to conserve this species. But, for anti-bears, the state does not do enough to protect pastoralists and their herds. According to them, only a definitive withdrawal of the bear from their territory could bring calm in the Pyrenees.