In Alsace, a resident was sentenced after the death of a protected lynx.

The Strasbourg criminal court sentenced a woman in her sixties to three months' suspended imprisonment following the death of a young female lynx in the Bas-Rhin region. The incident dates back to October 2024, when a protected animal entered a henhouse in Niederbronn-les-Bains. The owner of the property then struck the feline with a stick as it attacked a domestic chicken.

The lynx, only a few months old, died shortly after rescuers arrived. Prosecuted for the illegal destruction of a protected species, the defendant will also have to pay more than 30.000 euros to several environmental protection associations that joined the case as civil parties.

A decision closely watched by wildlife advocates

Animal welfare organizations welcomed the decision, which they consider symbolically important in the fight against harm to protected wildlife. However, some groups believe the penalty remains insufficient given the seriousness of the offenses and the particularly vulnerable status of the lynx in France.

The case comes as several legal proceedings related to the killing of lynx are still underway in the east of the country. Environmentalists hope this conviction will mark a legal turning point in the protection of this rare species, whose population remains limited in France.