Who killed the bear found dead in Ariège on Tuesday? The 200-kilogram animal was found below a path, by agents from the French Office for Biodiversity who came to observe an attack on the sheep. The affair rekindles tensions between pro-bear environmental associations and Pyrenees breeders.
"It's not really a surprise"
The pro-bears immediately vented their anger by denouncing the "poaching by bullets of a bear". But for Philippe Lacube, breeder and president of the chamber of agriculture, this is not really a surprise. "Today there is so much pain, so many people [breeders, editor's note] who spend nights outside ... For us, it is not surprising that at bay we can have such behavior", says- he at the microphone of Europe 1.
>> Find all of Europe 1's editorial newspapers in replay and podcast here
It is the Minister of the Ecological Transition, Élisabeth Borne, who announced Tuesday the death of the animal, denouncing an act "illegal and deeply condemnable", and specifying that the State was going to file a complaint. "Madame Borne is filing a complaint for the death of this bear, she has not filed a complaint for the death of 3,000 sheep for three years ... We wonder what can justify this", questions Philippe Lacube.
Autopsy in progress in Toulouse
To breeders who are surprised by this deployment of resources, and to environmental associations who fear a sloppy investigation so as not to set fire to the mountain, the Foix prosecutor, Laurent Dumaine, replies that he intends to shed light on this case. "It is not new to the Ariège court that the environmental question is a priority question. This investigation will be carried out with the same diligence as all the investigations in the matter, but also that all the investigations where the breeders consider be victims, "he said.
An autopsy is currently underway at the Toulouse veterinary school. Investigators hope in particular to find the bullet. The author, if identified, risks three years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros.