Wounded wolf in the Saône-et-Loire region: no to his slaughter
Morey, Saône-et-Loire, on the night of December 4, 2023: the department’s only remaining wolf has been wounded by a shot in his thigh after days of relentless pursuit. Since then, he has survived as best he could, on three legs. Unable as he is to jump, it would be enough to install fences, electrified nets or dogs to protect the herds. However, the farmers refuse to accept this solution, preferring to whine in the media, with the support of the prefecture, which has summoned the “wolf brigade” to shoot the wounded wolf. We ask that he not be killed and that he be entrusted to us for safekeeping in our sanctuary in Italy, where several rescued wolves already live.
Prefecture encourages slaughter
Back in the department since 2019, the wolves were all shot one after the other in 2020, 2021 and 2023. The last surviving wolf was shot last December. He has since survived with a bullet in his posterior, which prevents him from moving properly, greatly limiting his movements and ability to feed. But today, his days are numbered. The “wolf brigade” has been on the spot with great fanfare since the beginning of August to kill an already crippled animal.
Farmers oppose protection
Crippled, this lame wolf is looking for an easy way to feed and survive: livestock left unattended. For their part, farmers make no secret of the fact: they want the wolf dead. Protect their herd? That’s out of the question. For Emilie Magnin, a breeder at the bergerie de la Saugerie in Villeneuve-en-Montagne, protecting her ewes is too unpleasant: “To request a simple defense shot, the animals have to be protected, either in protective nets, where there’s little room to move, or by an electrified fence. The latter is a restrictive solution, as maintenance requires a lot of work. It delays our breeding activity. Asking for simple defense shooting is just one constraint after another, to fit into boxes”. Even though farmers receive subsidies to protect their animals.
The solution? Leave the sheep unguarded and unprotected, cry to the press when it’s too late, and demand that wolves be exterminated in the department.
We urge the authorities in Saône-et-Loire to put an end to this stalking and impose protection for the flocks. We are ready to take this wolf into our care and transfer him to our sanctuary in Italy, where he can live in complete safety, along with other survivors.