It is an animal that is part of a protected species. However, a lynx was found wounded by bullets in the Jura. Spotted in the mountains thanks to an automatic camera, he was rescued by an association, which filed a complaint against the author of the shooting. This 3-year-old female was operated on Friday, Gilles Moyne, director of the Athénas Center, the wildlife care association which collected her last week in the town of Hauts de Bienne, told AFP.
The spotted feline with the pointed ears was detected at the end of January by an automatic camera, which filmed it limping on three legs in the snow. Two weeks later, the animal was spotted again near a chicken coop, seven kilometers away. Using a trap cage, the rescuers manage to capture him and entrust him to a veterinarian, who diagnoses, radio in support, a gunshot wound.
Complaint against X
“It’s an act of poaching,” denounces the association. “This female (…) was the victim of the hatred that an armed minority has for this species. The association sent a complaint against X to the Lons-le-Saunier prosecutor’s office on Friday “for willful destruction of a protected species”. But the bullet burst into several metal fragments when it hit the animal’s shin. “There is no longer a whole projectile, which complicates the identification of the author of the shot”, recognizes Gilles Moyne, hoping for “testimonies” to find him.
Last September, another female lynx was found dead in the Doubs, about fifty kilometers away. An autopsy also revealed a gunshot wound.
150 adult lynx in France
The offense of poaching is punishable by a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros. France published its first national plan in early 2022 to protect the Eurasian lynx, which disappeared at the start of the 20th century before being reintroduced. It aims to better protect the largest wild cat in Europe.
According to Gilles Moyne, France has some 150 adult lynx, 85% of which are present throughout the Jura range. At least four animals were killed last year, two by bullets and two by poisoning. According to him, the animal, which does not attack herds, is the victim of a controversy over the competition it would exercise with certain hunters. The increase in the deer population in the Jura shows that this is not the case, assures Gilles Moyne.