A person has been arrested in Spain as part of the investigation into the death of the Cachou bear in April, police in the region of Catalonia (northeast) announced on Friday (November 20).
Cachou, a six-year-old male bear, born in the Pyrenees and accused of predation, was found dead in early April in the Aran Valley in Spain near the border with France, without the causes of death being known.
An investigation was then opened on the Spanish side with an autopsy carried out in Barcelona.
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"
There is a person arrested in connection with the death of the bear
" Cachou, confirmed the Catalan police (Mossos d'Esquadra) to AFP, without giving further details.
According to the Catalan television channel TV3, he is an officer in charge of the environment at the General Council of the Aran Valley, an administrative division of Catalonia, which has a special regime.
Information that was not confirmed by the General Council of Aran, which asserted its "
respect for the open judicial process and the presumption of innocence of the person involved
", in a statement Thursday.
"
We contemplate with great concern the drift of the case,
" reacted on Twitter the Spanish Foundation Oso Pardo, which defends the bears and is represented in this legal case.
In August 2019, the authorities of the Aran Valley had requested the “
immediate withdrawal
” of this bear, denouncing its predatory behavior.
The plantigrade was then implicated in the death of five horses.
For their part, bear defense associations were grieved at the loss of this animal belonging to a protected species.