A shot targeted a wolf on the night of May 25 to 26 in Haut-Bugey. The wolf was not hit but the lieutenant of Louveterie who fired the shot informed the departmental service of the French Biodiversity Office. The shooter was commissioned by a breeder in the area. Following an attack on April 26 and one on May 12, the breeder wanted to use herd defense fire declared in the prefecture.
Is it really a question of protecting a flock of sheep against attacks by a wolf or would the objective rather be to succeed in killing the wolf? This is the question that the France nature environment association of Ain seems to be asking, which questioned the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT) in a letter dated May 28.
“Why don’t we try to better protect this herd?”
“Why don’t we try to better protect this herd? We find it a shame that it was not moved to other pastures further away which would better protect it, explains Stéphanie Convers, director of FNE01, based on field observations. The herd is on the same pasture where unfortunately there was blood spilled by an attack, which attracts the wolf; “He’s come to the same place several times, so if the herd was moved with more dogs, it would seem more protective to us.”
FNE and other associations committed to the coexistence of large predators and breeders, are pleading for the implementation of proven means of protecting sheep and goats: sufficient and well-trained flock protection dogs, correctly installed electrified nets, high, lined and lined night pens. circular, lighting systems…
The wolf remains a protected species in France (approximately 1,082 wolves with a ceiling of 227 wolves that can be killed this year). Defensive shooting must respect a legal framework: it is thus prohibited to attract or lure wolves near the shooters, to intentionally provoke reactions to facilitate their detection by the shooters. Asked about the follow-up given to FNE’s report, the prefecture did not respond within our deadline.
