Hunter faces controversial charges years after being attacked by bear: 'He saved his own skin'

Yahoo

07-04-2025

While the brown bear is a species of least concern according to the IUCN Red List, the animal is protected in the Pyrenees. The classification has led to charges against an 81-year-old French hunter who allegedly killed a brown bear in 2021, according to The Guardian.
André Rives was boar-hunting in the Pyrenees when he stumbled across a pair of bear cubs coming out of the woods. Before long, the cubs' mother emerged from the woods as well. The adult brown bear then charged at the hunter, ultimately dragging Rives several feet.
This is when authorities say Rives shot and killed the bear. "She grabbed my left thigh; I panicked and fired a shot," Rives said, according to the outlet. "She backed away growling. She went around me and bit my right calf. I fell; she was eating my leg. I reloaded my rifle and fired."
With multiple leg injuries in the aftermath, Rives was tended to by another hunter before being rescued by a helicopter. Nearly four years after the ordeal, Rives is on trial for the death of the bear.
"This is not an anti-bear or pro-bear trial," judge Sun Yung Lazare said. According to Lazare, Rives is on trial for "destroying a protected species."
Though the brown bear population remains strong throughout the world, the animals' presence in the Pyrenees had dwindled over the previous century. However, according to another report by The Guardian, there are now around 70 brown bears living in the Pyrenees.
This demonstrates the effectiveness of conservation measures. Not only do they help promote increased biodiversity in fragile ecosystems, but they also encourage a healthy food chain for humans as well.
As noted by an investigation, the bear was shot and killed just 1,300 feet outside of an authorized hunting area. Rives was part of a hunting party that included 15 others, who have all been charged with various offenses for hunting in the Mont Valier Nature Reserve.
Despite the fact that Rives and the hunting party ventured outside of the hunting zone, Jean-Luc Fernandez, president of a local hunting federation, questioned the charge against Rives. "He fired," Fernandez said. "He should have let her do it? No, he saved his own skin."
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