Following the wolves, dogs are being slaughtered to pacify farmers
Although a vast majority of herds in Aveyron are not protected due to the “sheep density” in the department (more than 110,000 sheep), the State has chosen the usual solution: kill, kill, and kill some more! And when wolves are not targeted, it’s dogs’ turn. Clearly, a building, a human presence, or anything else are not options for them: we should not start spending money on animals that will end up in the slaughterhouse anyway… We are attacking this decree.
Lost dogs, deemed ‘malicious’, shot on sight
From 10 April until 10 May, all “stray, wandering, or bad” dogs approaching herds in Couvertoirade, Hospitalet-du-Larzac, Nant, Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, and Saint-Jean-et-Saint-Paul can be slaughtered overnight (between 8pm and 8am).
Do we still need to remind ourselves that animals are not “bad” by nature, but that it is circumstances that make them aggressive, such as hunger or violent training? The choice of this term, in official laws, is significant…
All dogs that are “out of earshot” or more than 100 metres away from their owner can be targeted. Those living in Aveyron: be careful during your evening or morning walks not to lose sight of your pets, and to bring them in at night. If not, they could be slaughtered in the vicinity of pastures.
There is little distinction between dogs and wolves in Aveyron
The Aveyron prefect’s choice is revealing of the State’s negligence on this subject. Rather than supporting farmers by training them in implementing protection measures and subsidising them to help them to set guidelines for cows and horses, the government can no longer hide its anti-wolf/pro-farming position. They prefer to relax conditions for slaughtering rather than making protection measures for all types of animals obligatory.
Dogs, wolves, and any other type of living being: we will continue to defend them in the face of agricultural and hunting lobbies. For these dogs, who may have been abandoned and are struggling to survive, or are quite simply lost and making do as best they can, and who the prefect prefers to have killed rather than help, we are attacking this decree. For wolves, join the fight: sign our petition to demand their protection and an end to shooting them.