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-Short Attention Span Theater-
French hunter claims 'self-defence' in bear shoot
2004-12-07
A French hunter who killed one of the 18 bears surviving in the Pyrenees mountains on the Spanish border intends to fight criminal charges claiming he fired in self-defence, his lawyer said Tuesday. Rene Marqueze, 62, was placed under formal criminal investigation Tuesday for destroying a member of an endangered species, the lawyer, Thierry Sagardoytho, said. Marqueze killed a 15-year-old female bear called Cannelle (or 'Cinnamon' in French) on November 1 while out on a boar-hunt in the Aspe Valley. The bear, which the hunter said he happened upon as she was with her cub on a cliff-edge, was just one of three indigenous bears left in the Pyrenees.
Stumbled onto a mother bear with a cub on the edge of a cliff, sounds like one of those classic "Outdoor Life" covers.
Their number has been boosted by the introduction of about 15 bears brought in from the Balkans. The two remaining indigenous bears are both males. "I didn't want to kill it. It was just as I was running away that it launched itself after me," Marqueze told a local newspaper. He said the bear "roared and jumped forward with incredible speed, like a horse in full gallop. I turned, I fired at its side. I had no choice. It was the bear or me."
"She's charging, Ned! Shoot her!"
Marqueze added the anger of environmentalists over the incident was misplaced. "I'd like to see what all those who have called me a murderer would have done in my place."
They'd have followed that great French tradition of running like hell.
Posted by:Steve

#16  Marqueze added the anger of environmentalists over the incident was misplaced. "I'd like to see what all those who have called me a murderer would have done in my place."

This is what a good moonbat naturalist would have done: "http://www.bcwf.bc.ca/s=123/bcw1065647048539/
Posted by: SC88   2004-12-07 10:33:21 PM  

#15  Feme La Bush! Au Voir** Andre`a.
Posted by: Andrea   2004-12-07 6:53:35 PM  

#14  Feme La Bush! Au Voir** Andre`a.
Posted by: Andrea   2004-12-07 6:52:24 PM  

#13  If this were in the states, 45 lawsuits would have already been filed on behalf of the cubs. This Frog would be working for the bears for the rest of his natural life.
Posted by: RWV   2004-12-07 3:28:00 PM  

#12  Mucky, that's cuz All your base are belong to us.
Remember, No tears for bears!
Posted by: Sobiesky   2004-12-07 3:23:41 PM  

#11  you guys are bring tears to my eyes.
Posted by: muck4doo   2004-12-07 3:18:41 PM  

#10  What on earth was he doing hunting in the range of a highly endangered species? Do we allow such things on this side of the pond? I know the fine for killing a member of an endangered (or even merely threatened) species is set extremely high, por encouragement les autres (my apologies for the bad spelling. I took a two month language course at the public library when I was seven, and had only got as far as Flemish in the one year we lived in Brussels).
Posted by: trailing wife   2004-12-07 1:59:00 PM  

#9  lynch im? Hey, the cubs gotta eat, ya know....
Posted by: Frank G   2004-12-07 12:56:42 PM  

#8  Lol! How, um, unilateral. The poor bear even had a name and was beloved by all! Phreakin' Cowboy. Lynch 'im.
Posted by: .com   2004-12-07 12:55:03 PM  

#7  "...I had no choice. It was the bear or me."

Wait-you mean talking with the bear didn't work? Or respecting his opinion?
Posted by: Jules 187   2004-12-07 12:51:20 PM  

#6  In the spirit of Anglo-Gallic reconcillation I move that we air drop 48 pairs of silver backs into said mountainous area. Think how much more fun the Pyranees Stages would be in the next TDF.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-12-07 12:35:20 PM  

#5  a bear charges you and you shoot it in the side...nice trick
Posted by: Frank G   2004-12-07 12:22:16 PM  

#4  Bears--why do they eat us?
Posted by: Mike   2004-12-07 12:16:57 PM  

#3  I would agree it was self-defense. After all,any bear has a decided intellectual edge over any Frenchman ;)
Posted by: Stephen   2004-12-07 12:11:17 PM  

#2  DF - LOL!
Posted by: .com   2004-12-07 12:10:09 PM  

#1  The two remaining indigenous bears are both males.

It's going to get ugly in the Pyrenees
Posted by: Dragon Fly   2004-12-07 12:05:25 PM  

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