It is an animal that is part of a protected species. However, a lynx was found with gunshot wounds in the Jura. Spotted in the mountains thanks to an automatic camera, he was rescued by an association, which filed a complaint against the perpetrator of the shooting. This three-year-old female was operated on Friday, told AFP Gilles Moyne, director of the Center Athénas, the association of care to the fauna that took in last week in the town of Hauts de Bienne.

The spotted feline with pointed ears was detected in late 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 kilometres away. Using a trap cage, the rescuers manage to capture him and entrust him to a veterinarian, who diagnoses, with radios in support, a gunshot wound.

Complaint against X

"This is an act of poaching," denounces the association. "This female (...) has been a victim of the hatred that an armed minority has for this species. The association sent a complaint against X on Friday to the prosecutor's office of Lons-le-Saunier "for voluntary destruction of protected species". But the bullet burst into several metal fragments by hitting the animal's shin. "There is no longer a whole projectile, which complicates the identification of the author of the shot," admits 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 offence of poaching is punishable by a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros. In early 2022, France published its first national plan to protect the boreal lynx, which disappeared in the early <>th century before being reintroduced. It aims to better protect Europe's largest wild cat.



According to Gilles Moyne, the France has some 150 adult lynx, 85% of which are present throughout the Jura mountain range. At least four animals were killed last year, two by gunfire 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, says Gilles Moyne.

  • Planet
  • Lynx
  • Franche-Comté
  • Threatened species
  • Animal protection
  • Poaching