News: wolf killed near Geneva
http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu/loup-abattu-chasseur-30-km-vol-oiseau-geneve-2009-02-16
After being placed under investigation this weekend, a hunter from Haute-Savoie has admitted killing a wolf at Petit-Bornand-les-Glières, thirty kilometres as the crow flies from Geneva. The 32-year-old local man is suspected of illegal hunting, killing an endangered species, and illegal possession of the .22 long rifle with which he killed the canid.
"He defends his actions," according to the state attorney, Michel Belin. "He asserts that he was right to do it, as he sides with those who believe that wolves are vermin."
In the areas of France near Switzerland, in the Bornes mountains which the animal has been repopulating since 2004, dispute is raging between the pro- and anti-wolf camps. Despite the tense situation, it is officially the first time a wolf has been killed in Haute-Savoie. Legal hunts, which were authorised by the Departmental prefect last May after the first attack [translator: presumably on livestock!], have had no result.
Far from condemning the hunter's actions, the prefect acknowledges that the number of wolves in the area is problematic, and states, "I have contacted the minister to obtain authorisation for a cull, to control the wolf population. He is forming a coherent plan which has nothing to do with this act of poaching."
The act was committed last Thursday. Around 5 pm, on returning from work, the hunter learned that a wolf had killed a chamois some hundreds of metres from thehamlet of Petit-Bornand. Armed with his rifle, he went to the kill and decided to wait for the predator to return. In the following hours, two wolves came to the site. He killed one. Then he returned to the village to seek help to get the animal into his car.
Alerted by an anonymous call, the local Hunting and Wildlife Office began investigating, on the grounds that a healthy chamois had been attacked. The case was immediately forwarded to Parquet. [translator: this paragraph contains idioms that are beyond my modest French. Pinch of salt. And I've no idea where or who 'Parquet' is.]
The hunter was apprehended at his home on Saturday afternoon. "Under questioning, he cooperated with the enquiry actively and in good faith," says his lawyer, Ms Jacques Puthod. "He explains his actions as a frustrated response to the authorities' failure to act aganist the multiple and bloody acts of predation committed by wolves."
Philippe Missillier, of the Departmental farmers' federation, confirms that the hunter has the support of farmers as well as other hunters. "It was well known that frustration was growing and it was pretty obvious that someone would take the law into their own hands," he says, and adds: "People feel that the wolf is no longer endangered and that its presence is incompatible with Alpine farming practices."
The hunter has been released subject to judicial restrictions, including an injunction against hunting, and could stand trial at the end of the year. He faces up to two years in prison and a 30,000 euro fine.
After being placed under investigation this weekend, a hunter from Haute-Savoie has admitted killing a wolf at Petit-Bornand-les-Glières, thirty kilometres as the crow flies from Geneva. The 32-year-old local man is suspected of illegal hunting, killing an endangered species, and illegal possession of the .22 long rifle with which he killed the canid.
"He defends his actions," according to the state attorney, Michel Belin. "He asserts that he was right to do it, as he sides with those who believe that wolves are vermin."
In the areas of France near Switzerland, in the Bornes mountains which the animal has been repopulating since 2004, dispute is raging between the pro- and anti-wolf camps. Despite the tense situation, it is officially the first time a wolf has been killed in Haute-Savoie. Legal hunts, which were authorised by the Departmental prefect last May after the first attack [translator: presumably on livestock!], have had no result.
Far from condemning the hunter's actions, the prefect acknowledges that the number of wolves in the area is problematic, and states, "I have contacted the minister to obtain authorisation for a cull, to control the wolf population. He is forming a coherent plan which has nothing to do with this act of poaching."
The act was committed last Thursday. Around 5 pm, on returning from work, the hunter learned that a wolf had killed a chamois some hundreds of metres from thehamlet of Petit-Bornand. Armed with his rifle, he went to the kill and decided to wait for the predator to return. In the following hours, two wolves came to the site. He killed one. Then he returned to the village to seek help to get the animal into his car.
Alerted by an anonymous call, the local Hunting and Wildlife Office began investigating, on the grounds that a healthy chamois had been attacked. The case was immediately forwarded to Parquet. [translator: this paragraph contains idioms that are beyond my modest French. Pinch of salt. And I've no idea where or who 'Parquet' is.]
The hunter was apprehended at his home on Saturday afternoon. "Under questioning, he cooperated with the enquiry actively and in good faith," says his lawyer, Ms Jacques Puthod. "He explains his actions as a frustrated response to the authorities' failure to act aganist the multiple and bloody acts of predation committed by wolves."
Philippe Missillier, of the Departmental farmers' federation, confirms that the hunter has the support of farmers as well as other hunters. "It was well known that frustration was growing and it was pretty obvious that someone would take the law into their own hands," he says, and adds: "People feel that the wolf is no longer endangered and that its presence is incompatible with Alpine farming practices."
The hunter has been released subject to judicial restrictions, including an injunction against hunting, and could stand trial at the end of the year. He faces up to two years in prison and a 30,000 euro fine.