The extermination of wolves planned in France and Europe?
Authorities have just announced a new estimate of the number of wolves in France after discontent throughout the summer by those opposing these magnificent animals, unsatisfied by the result of the first count. After the initial report from the announcement of the Wolf Plan on a national level, the European Commission urges Member States including France to implement these exemptions – read: slaughtering permissions – to the great satisfaction of the Ministry of Agriculture… Even if this fight is hard, we will never stop fighting for them.
An intensive agricultural system on the mountainside
In recent weeks, wolf critics have had a great time: agricultural groups left a national group meeting to put pressure on. On their side, presidents of the Alps departmental councils were in tears about the ‘growth and threat’.
Their scheme worked so well that a new count was carried out to appease them. What a surprise: the figures revealed on 6 September were changed to a higher number, going from 906 wolves counted in June to 1104, which is almost 200 individuals.
These ‘poor shepherds’ who try to make us believe that they are participating in mountain biodiversity, when in reality they are grazing flocks of several hundred – if not thousands – of sheep in overgrazed meadows, for which the State provides financial aid and compensation on request even though many do not properly protect the animals that depend on them. These farmers who are simply crying over a potential financial loss that they will not be able to sell to the abattoir. And remember that the wolves only take a tiny amount of the herds: they are the cause of only 0.15% of the mortality of ewes and lambs from all causes (diseases, transport accidents, falls, etc.).
After France, wolves are in the EU’s sights
For years, we have been warning the public of the fact that the number of ‘targets’ to slaughtered is constantly increasing – even though their population was half that at the time. Are authorities looking to simply exterminate them again?
New proof of the “power” of the deadly breeder-hunter duo, the President of the European Commission declared at the start of the school year that the packs constitute a “true danger for livestock and, potentially, for humans”, adding to the hysteria that wolves have suffered since the Middle Ages.
Attacks on humans are a myth. The vast majority of those that happened in France in the distant past were carried out by rabid animals, a disease that has now been eradicated. Wolves do not attack humans, as Nicolas Rossignol, a point of contact for the Calanques National Park, explains. As a reminder, 10,000 dog bites are recorded in France each year.
After this string of announcements, the presentation of the new Wolf Plan, which was supposed to take place at the beginning of September, was postponed until the end of the month. By complaining, the agricultural lobby, supported by local elected representatives and even the French President, achieved its goals. The satisfaction of the Ministry of Agriculture does not bode well. Since the start of the year, at least 126 wolves have already been slaughtered: 120 legally and 6 poached.
We are obviously taking part in the consultation organised by the European Commission until 22 September. Nothing will stop us getting these lethal shots stopped. While waiting, sign our petition to call for the end of wolves’ persecution.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice