A mockery of democracy concerning the Wolf Plan!
The Wolf Plan: every year, a quota of individuals is chosen by the Ministry of Ecology. One Voice is opposed and calls for the ban on this slaughter.
Each year, the Ministry of Ecology establishes a quota of wolves to be killed, this is the Wolf Plan. One Voice is against it and calls for an outright ban on the slaughter of wolves. These exciting animals are a wealth for biodiversity, they have their place in the mountains and forests of France.
On January 4th, 2018, we were received at the Ministry of the Ecological and Solidarity Transition to talk about the Wolf Plan 2018-2023. We discovered with amazement that it was already drafted and adopted, even though neither the opinion of the National Council for the Protection of Wildlife nor the results of the public consultation had been made. And for good reason, the consultation had not even started yet! It is a sham democracy that is being played before us, and this is unfortunately not the first time that public consultation has been despised.
How can a plan that takes into account the opinion of specialists and the public be developed and adopted even before any working meetings and the results of the consultation? We are faced with the fait accompli, and we are told that we will still ask public opinion? Who’s laughing at who? More than ever, we will have to respond to this consultation to allow the text to be amended before final ratification.
These magnificent animals fulfil a fundamental role in the ecosystem. We could talk endlessly about the personality of wolves, the different roles they fill in the pack, knowledge that the elders pass on to their young. Mothers are so loving, they complement each other … We could add that the protected nature of their species should be taken into account … We could finish by saying that the wolves represent an asset towards green tourism which is rarely put forward.
The rural code itself recognizes that “living things and biodiversity are part of the common heritage of the nation.” – L.110-1 first paragraph. But all this would be purely argumentative, and to lose sight of the main thing: the mountains should not be the scene of killings, but remain protected areas of nature, with animals that have the right to live in peace.
For One Voice, it is imperative to study the impact of pastoral rights over the biodiversity. Indeed, nothing says that agricultural activities are a good for the ecology of our country and more widely of the planet, everything indicates, on the other hand the opposite: destruction of the fauna and the flora of the mountain, sending lambs and sheep to the slaughterhouse …
In short, the only positive point of our meeting, which is light years away from the respect and protection due to wolves, is that the new text will only allow breeders who have made herd protection arrangements to be compensated in case of proven attacks, according to a graduated conditionality. Previously, nothing was required.
The consultation is open from January 8th to 29th, 2018. Let’s mobilize!