The deputy (Nupes) in the first constituency Bénédicte Taurine presented on 18 October 2022 a bill on herd protection dogs on mountain pastures.
There are calendar coincidences that make you smile. On 18 October 2022, a large demonstration took place in the center of Foix to “defend the countryside”, according to the organizers. On that day, six agriculture and rural officials appeared before the criminal court in the county town for preventing the freedom to demonstrate during a demonstration meeting organized in La Bastide-de-Sérou on 5 May 2018. The court’s decision was put under consideration on 29 November.
At the same time, the deputy of the first constituency Bénédicte Taurine, elected under the banner of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), presented a bill on herd protection dogs in the National Assembly. “Since 2017, I have been listening to the rural community in its diversity. My goal with this proposal is to change legal provisions that are no longer appropriate, especially due to the presence of predators”, she explains in the preamble. Clear reference to the bear, which was reintroduced in the mid-2000s in the Pyrenees and has since been a source of much tension. “Bigger problems arise. In the mountains there is a risk of incident conflicts or even bites with different users.” A danger that had been raised in particular by the president of the Ariège Pastoral Federation, Alain Servat, during the summer of 2022.
“I propose that the state take responsibility for the damage that these guard dogs cause to third parties. However, I include in the bill the possibility that the state can intervene if it is proven that the breeder or the shepherd has deliberately disregarded an obligation. of safety or prudence .” The text was presented to the Minister of Agriculture on October 27 during the state-parliamentary elected meeting and the Ariège agricultural associations in Paris.
