French launch hunt for bear killer Pyrenees | Abroad

Bears are a protected species and killing can carry a three-year prison sentence and a fine of 150,000 euros. Farmers in the area are not happy with the bears because they attack their herds. About fifty bears are said to live in the Pyrenees.

“This is an endangered species, an illegal and completely reprehensible act. The state will file a complaint, “said Minister Elisabeth Borne.

The young male was found dead with gunshot wounds on Tuesday not far from the Spanish border by officials investigating complaints from farmers about the deaths of their livestock. It is the second bear to be found dead in the Pyrenees this year. Bears from Slovenia were reintroduced into the mountains in the 1990s after they nearly died out in the Pyrenees.

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