Culling of wolves in France

norseman · #1 14-10-2015, 08:51 AM

French sheep farmers call for wolves to be culled. In 2014, 8500 sheep were taken primarily in Hautes-Alpes and Provence.
Can someone put me right on this. But was it not the custom that sheep herds were guarded by a rather fierce breed of dog in times past ?
Wolves in France are about 300 and the number to be culled in 2015 are to be 36, up from 25.
p.s. The wolf is a protected species in European Law and cannot be hunted but culling is permitted.

knightofalbion · #2 14-10-2015, 09:29 AM

Rather ironic. Farmer angry at wolves for killing sheep - before he could! The sheep weren't pets as I understand it.

They used to have powerful mountain dogs for defending flocks against wolves. Presumably this fellow doesn't, though maybe he should!

Sad that man's answer is always to destroy rather than try to find a natural and sustainable balance.

norseman · #3 14-10-2015, 10:18 AM

I noted that the areas most affected were in the Alps and Pyrenees, so mountainous areas and presumably small flocks. Not sure how many wolf packs are active. The numbers of wolves and the numbers to be culled suggest that this is a token gesture perhaps.

Belle · #4 14-10-2015, 11:27 AM

Ug that is really sad and horrible. Wolves are doing what they do.

skygazer · #5 14-10-2015, 01:00 PM

men has strayed so far away from its true nature. So much power in the hands of some that are really not human at all.

blackraven · #6 14-10-2015, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norseman

French sheep farmers call for wolves to be culled. In 2014, 8500 sheep were taken primarily in Hautes-Alpes and Provence.
Can someone put me right on this. But was it not the custom that sheep herds were guarded by a rather fierce breed of dog in times past ?
Wolves in France are about 300 and the number to be culled in 2015 are to be 36, up from 25.
p.s. The wolf is a protected species in European Law and cannot be hunted but culling is permitted.

norseman - I had a similar thread about culling deer. It seems that when people are inconvenienced by a species of animals many often act as though they have the right eliminate those animals. You brought up fierce breed of dogs watching over the heard and it seems like that measure should be taken first. I've argued the same argument about deer in my community. People complain that they are eating their flowers and landscaping. I live where deer come onto our property every day. I have a 14 foot bird feeder as not to be fined $100 for 'feeding the deer" and I plant only deer-resistant flowers and shrubs/trees. There is a solution to sharing the planet with our fellow animals and culling doesn't feel viable to me or morally right.

Interesting that in Europe one can't hunt wolves, but culling is allowed. Same is true where I live with deer. Seems like a hypocritical situation if I ever saw one.

Howla Dark · #7 14-10-2015, 03:58 PM

Humans equals death.

Tobi · #8 14-10-2015, 08:09 PM

I can't understand why the methods of Shaun Ellis ("The Wolfman") aren't used, as they are simple, and proven to be effective.
Shaun lived with wolves for many years, and made a study of wolf howls, and their precise language.
He proved that playing recordings of wolf howls as protection for livestock actually works. The wolves believe another, larger pack inhabits the designated area, and do not want to come near.
This obviously works best if someone has an idea of the size of the pack they wish to deter, and can play a recording of a larger-sized pack.

This method has worked successfully, without any animal needing to be killed.

knightofalbion · #9 14-10-2015, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobi

I can't understand why the methods of Shaun Ellis ("The Wolfman") aren't used, as they are simple, and proven to be effective.
Shaun lived with wolves for many years, and made a study of wolf howls, and their precise language.
He proved that playing recordings of wolf howls as protection for livestock actually works. The wolves believe another, larger pack inhabits the designated area, and do not want to come near.
This obviously works best if someone has an idea of the size of the pack they wish to deter, and can play a recording of a larger-sized pack.

This method has worked successfully, without any animal needing to be killed.

Brilliant!

norseman · #10 14-10-2015, 10:32 PM

Britain is becoming over-run by deer. The reason being that we have wiped out the top predators in the chain. Predators actually improve the prey species by naturally culling the weaker members.
The wolf is an ancient inhabitant of Britain and should be re-introduced. In my area of England, we have large tracts of "empty" land. The moors are home to sheep but not the docile, fluffy sheep you see in photographs but the hard-as-nails high country Swaledales. The Dales have large numbers of deer destroying young trees and I know from experience that some of the dales have feral goats. There is food galore for the wolf and the lynx, and the space !