Hunter gets suspended sentence for killing endangered bear; 15 others fined and banned from hunting.

A French court on Tuesday sentenced an 81-year-old hunter to a four-month suspended prison term for fatally shooting an endangered female bear in the Pyrenees mountains in 2021. The incident occurred while the man was engaged in a boar hunt and claimed to have acted in self-defense when the brown bear attacked him. His actions sparked strong condemnation from environmental organizations.

The court determined that although the hunter claimed he had no alternative but to shoot, his conduct warranted punishment. In addition to the suspended sentence, the court also revoked the hunting licenses of 15 other individuals who had participated in the same hunt. Furthermore, all 16 hunters were ordered to pay a collective sum exceeding 60,000 euros (approximately $68,000) to the environmental associations that filed the civil lawsuit.

During the March trial held in Foix, a town in southern France, the prosecution stated that the hunters had no legal right to be within the Mont Valier nature reserve, where the incident occurred. Defence attorney Charles Lagier, however, maintained that his clients acted out of necessity and urged the court to acquit all of them, arguing that the main defendant had “no other option” but to shoot the bear.