81-Year Old Hunter Sentenced to 4-Months Suspension For Killing Female Bear That Attacked Him
An 81-year-old French hunter has been dashed a 4-months suspension for killing an endangered female bear that had attacked him back in 2021.
In November 2021, André Rives was boar-hunting when two bear cubs came from the woods — not long after, their mother appeared, challenged Rives and then dragged him for several metres.
The hunter in defense, shot and killed the animala female bear nicknamed Caramelles — that attacked him first.
The 81-year had sustained leg injuries and was only rescued by a fellow hunter who managed to stem the bleeding before he was evacuated by helicopter.
During investigation, it was revealed that the bear was killed 400m (1,300ft) outside an authorised hunting area and in the department of Ariège, hunters supported Rives all along.
However, during his trial back in March, the presiding judge in the french court —Sun Yung Lazare stated that;
“This is not an anti-bear or pro-bear trial. Rives is on trial for destroying a protected species.”
While the case had lingered since then and 20 associations had already filed a lawsuit against the trial— the french court on Tuesday, handed him the suspended prison sentence over the incident which had happened in the mountain range separating France and Spain.
During his defense, the defendant said he had opened fire on the brown bear because he had no choice as it had attacked him while he was boar-hunting in.
While a lot of other association criticized the sentence on the 81-year old hunter, the court also revoked the license of 15 other hunters who were out on the day of the incident with him.
However, during the trial in March which was hosted in the Foix area of southern France while the prosecutor said that the defendants should not have been in the Mont Valier nature reserve in the first place, the defence lawyer Charles Lagier argued that all the defendants should be acquitted.
Charles had stated that the hunter killed the bear because he had no other option.
Meanwhile, all the defendant hunters were charged to collectively pay over 60,000 euros ($68,000) to the environmental groups that brought the civil suit.
