Accidental Death of Bear Fuels Passions in France
Date: 31-Aug-06
Country: FRANCE
Author: James Mackenzie
The incident sparked suggestions she may have been deliberately driven to her death by opponents of the reintroduction and countercharges that the government was at fault for setting the bears loose in an unfamiliar environment.
Pro and anti-bear graffiti is a common sight along roadsides in the Pyrenees, a region where bears were once common.
"We're not against bears," said Stephane Lessieux, spokesman for ASPAP, a group that represents farmers who have protested against the reintroduction programme which they say threatens sheep and cows that graze freely in the mountains in summer.
"We respect the animals but I don't think that just because you respect an animal and want to protect it that means you can introduce it just anywhere," he said.
But the language in which the case has been discussed suggests that more than animal welfare is at stake.
Generation Ecologie, an environmentalist party, has demanded an official enquiry, saying that if it turns out that Palouma was pursued, it would be "murder pure and simple" while the daily Le Monde said ironically the bear had "died for France".
The case of the bears has underlined the differences between the vaguely Green ideas espoused by many city dwellers of all political colours and the concerns of rural inhabitants who see themselves as the true guardians of the French countryside.
"Everyone who lives in a town in the 21st century is in favour of the environment. Everyone wants to save animals. It's normal," said Lessieux.
"But it's a naive idea to want to develop both human activities and the wild in the same area."
Environmentalists dismiss the idea of any serious damage to sheep or cattle herds caused by a total wild bear population in the region estimated at around 20.
"Eating sheep isn't the real reason, given that losses are paid for by the government," said Raymond Chaumont, a spokesman for Generation Ecologie. "It's more a political thing; it's more an opposition to decisions from Paris."
According to government figures, bears kill around 300 sheep and cattle a year in the region. This compares with up to 20,000 losses a year for other reasons.
