Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP 6:45 p.m., March 12, 2024
A fisherman who was supposed to carry out checks on a watercourse in the Jura came face to face with a mass grave of foxes this Monday.
The images, shared on social networks, caused a strong reaction and led to the suspension of the approval of a wolf scout, assigned to hunt foxes.
A shocking and macabre spectacle.
This Monday, reports France 3, a fisherman, who had to check the water level of a river in the Jura, discovered at least twenty corpses of foxes, sometimes piled on top of each other.
The man, who told France Bleu Besançon that he had been alerted by a foul odor, then decided to film the scene.
We see dozens of corpses scattered here and there in the bush all around the Lemme, the watercourse in question.
Some are emaciated while others show an advanced state of decomposition.
Bullet holes are also visible on several foxes.
The video, on which we can also see bones, is then transmitted to the SOS Loue Rivière Comtoise collective which, in turn, shared it on its Facebook page.
Just like the Athénas center which treats, rehabilitates and releases wild animals into the wild.
The association has indicated that it will file a complaint and assures that "those responsible for this indignity have cause for concern."
Health problems
Between June 1st and the end of February, it is however authorized to hunt the delay, this mammal is not part of the list of protected species.
The fox, like the wild boar, is also likely to cause significant harm and therefore to be placed in the category of “harmful” animals.
However, letting the corpses fall in this way poses significant health problems in this specific case, the mass grave being located in the immediate vicinity of a watercourse.
>>
READ ALSO
- European elections: Jean Lassalle will lead the list of rural people and hunters
As indicated by France 3, which cites a press release from the Jura prefecture, "a municipal decree authorizing the collection of foxes (a species likely to cause damage) was issued on January 9, 2024 by the municipality of Fort-du- Plasne, for a period of three months, in particular with regard to repeated attacks on henhouses.
A wolf scout, that is to say a specialized hunter, had therefore been commissioned to “collect” several mammals.
After the opening of an investigation by the regional environmental prosecutor's office, under the authority of the Besançon prosecutor, a decision was taken to suspend the approval granted by the prefecture to this wolf scout, France 3 further indicates. The investigation was entrusted to the services of the French Biodiversity Office.