Unfair tactics by the prefecture and relentless persecution of bears in Ariège: One Voice fights back
Bear scaring in Ariège: One Voice obtains an unprecedented suspension of daytime scare shooting
For years, the authorities have been persecuting bears in the Pyrenees by increasing the number of permits for scare shooting. The consequences of these operations are many: miscarriages, separation of mothers from their cubs, hearing damage, intense stress, etc.
For the first time this year, the Prefecture of Ariège went even further: on 19 July 2025, it authorised shooting in broad daylight from 21 to 25 July, showing contempt for the bears… and the law. Of course, it published the order at the last minute, an unacceptable but common strategy to prevent us from acting in time.
One Voice immediately referred the matter to the Administrative Court in Toulouse under exceptional proceedings. Within a few hours, and after a particularly long hearing, the decision was handed down: this order is clearly illegal, and its execution must be suspended as a measure of interim relief.
The bears of the Arreau summer pasture and their cubs will no longer have to endure repeated detonations. A few days of respite… until the next order. We will be there to fight, so that the bears can finally have peace.
In mid-July, within a few days, the Prefecture of Ariège signed four orders for scare shooting against bears in the summer pastures of the Arreau and Taus Espugues Pastoral Groupings (GP)… before waiting until the last moment to publish them. This is a common ploy by the authorities in this region, who are relentless in their persecution of bears and systematically block any attempts to defend these animals. One Voice is fighting back and has filed a petition for protection of fundamental liberties. The hearing will take place on 23 July at the Administrative Court in Toulouse with the aim of saving the individuals targeted by these shootings between 21 and 25 July.
On 15 July, the Prefecture of Ariège signed three orders for scare shootings concerning the summer pastures of the Arreau and Taus Espugues GP… allegedly published the same day. The reality is quite different, since the texts were only posted on its website on Friday 18 July, just before the courts closed for the weekend… and just as the scare shootings were ending after having terrorised the bears for the third consecutive day! The Prefecture deliberately prevented us from taking action against these outrageous measures by publishing the texts authorising the scare shooting only after it had ended. But it didn’t stop there! On Saturday 19 July, it once again took advantage of the weekend to give its green light to new scare measures on the Arreau summer pasture.
Constant harassment, even in the daytime…
On Monday 21 July from 5.30am to 9.30pm, and then every day at the same times until Friday 25 July, bears will be subjected to double-detonation shots with the aim of scaring them away… even though they have nowhere to go. Worse still, these operations, like the previous ones, are taking place in broad daylight, shamelessly flouting the ministerial decree governing scare shooting.
… and this is nothing new
We are not surprised: for years, the Prefecture of Ariège has stopped at nothing to torment the bears. In 2022, we managed to suspend nine prefectural orders concerning seven summer pastures. The following year, the authorities began to obstruct our work with last-minute publications. Once again, we responded, suspending five texts thanks to our petitions for protection of fundamental liberties. Unconcerned by the court decisions, the Prefecture has since continued its machinations, harassing the bears with gunshots, firing plastic bullets at the bear Barny to hurt him… not to mention the individuals killed illegally, such as Caramelles.
The Prefecture of Haute-Garonne is not to be outdone; in early July, it published a decree authorising scare shootings in the summer pastures of the Sengouagnet town council… the day before they were to be implemented. We immediately filed a request for interim relief, but the administrative court rejected it without even granting us a hearing. There is still a huge amount of awareness-raising work to be done before justice is on the side of bears, whose population in the Pyrenees has still not reached its viability threshold, even though nearly nine out of ten French people believe that these animals have their rightful place in nature (Ipsos/One Voice survey, November 2024).
In response to the shameful actions of the Prefecture of Ariège, we will be present at the Administrative Court in Toulouse on 23 July at 11am to seek an urgent suspension of the scare shootings still targeting bears on the Arreau GP summer pasture until 25 July. Sign up to defend them alongside us.
Bear scaring in Ariège: One Voice obtains an unprecedented suspension of daytime scare shooting
For years, the authorities have been persecuting bears in the Pyrenees by increasing the number of permits for scare shooting. The consequences of these operations are many: miscarriages, separation of mothers from their cubs, hearing damage, intense stress, etc.
For the first time this year, the Prefecture of Ariège went even further: on 19 July 2025, it authorised shooting in broad daylight from 21 to 25 July, showing contempt for the bears… and the law. Of course, it published the order at the last minute, an unacceptable but common strategy to prevent us from acting in time.
One Voice immediately referred the matter to the Administrative Court in Toulouse under exceptional proceedings. Within a few hours, and after a particularly long hearing, the decision was handed down: this order is clearly illegal, and its execution must be suspended as a measure of interim relief.
The bears of the Arreau summer pasture and their cubs will no longer have to endure repeated detonations. A few days of respite… until the next order. We will be there to fight, so that the bears can finally have peace.