Brown bears: the government steps up scare shots, One Voice fights back in court
Le gouvernement renforce l’effarouchement des ours et réduit la protection des mères. One Voice saisit la justice
The government is stepping up scare tactics against bears and reducing protection for mother bears. One Voice takes the matter to court
Instead of genuinely seeking to protect herds that have reached industrial-scale sizes, the government has chosen to intensify the pressure on the bears in the Pyrenees by increasing the number of professions authorised to carry firearms to include the very farmers who want them gone.
One Voice rejects this policy of terror and coercion. We will go to any lengths to defend the bears.
A declaration of war
The decree adopted by the government on 13 July sounds like a declaration of war against the bears. Scare shots, previously reserved for exceptional circumstances, could become a routine management tool. Livestock farmers, shepherds, members of pastoral groups, summer pasture managers and officially appointed huntmasters: all are now permitted to carry firearms. Furthermore, protection for female bears accompanied by their cubs has been weakened: the use of enhanced scare tactics is no longer conditional on “certain future harm to the herd”. Merely “particular vigilance” is now sufficient.
Weapons against a protected species
Even if they do not kill directly, scare tactics cause considerable damage. The explosions can reach 120 decibels (the pain threshold for humans) and, according to the National Council for Nature Conservation (CNPN), cause hearing damage. When repeated, these shots generate intense stress, disrupt the animals’ movements, can separate cubs from their mothers and cause miscarriages. No scientific study proves their effectiveness. Traumatising for the animals, they serve only to persecute a vulnerable species, hunting it down to drive it out of its natural habitat.
A persecution that has lasted for decades
The history of the Pyrenean bears is one of unceasing persecution. In November 2004, Cannelle, the last female bear of Pyrenean stock, was shot dead by a hunter. A few years earlier, Slovenian bears had been reintroduced into our mountain ranges to prevent their total extinction. Today, 108 bears – the descendants of those torn from their native land – are struggling to survive. These very same animals, brought here by force to prevent extinction, are once again being targeted by the authorities.
The courts protect them; the government changes the rules
Since 2022, every summer, the Ariège authorities have issued orders authorising bear scaring. Since 2022, every summer, One Voice has challenged these orders in court and secured their suspension. Rather than respecting these court rulings, the State has chosen to change the regulations and legalise practices that the judges have ruled against.
Bears belong in the Pyrenees
At a time when biodiversity is collapsing, we refuse to accept that scare tactics should become the norm, that hunting and weapons should be seen as a solution, or that the financial interests of a few should take precedence over the survival of a protected species.
Nine out of ten French people agree: bears belong in the Pyrenees. For them, our fight continues, both on the ground and in the courts. One Voice will see this through to the end.
Brown bears: the government steps up scare shots, One Voice fights back in court
The government is stepping up bear deterrence measures and reducing protection for mother bears. One Voice is taking the matter to court.