The conditions for shooting against wolves which threaten agricultural livestock will be "simplified" in accordance with the requests of the FNSEA announced the government. "We will have a stop" shooting […] simplified in accordance with the requests of many breeders" from here à the weekend promised the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, on Wednesday February 21. Behind this ruling, it is the practice of shooting wolves which will be made easier as part of the "wolf plan& ;quot; for the period 2024-2029. The final version of this plan, modified after having been reviewed, is the final version of this plan. judged insufficient by breeders and decried by environmental organizations, provides for the possibility of to mobilize two shooters, or even three in an exceptional manner and with authorization from the prefect, for defensive shooting of a herd against a wolf. Only one fencer is allowed. for now. Only Cub Scouts, volunteers responsible for wildlife management, will remain authorized to participate in the game. practice these defensive shots. They are also the only ones to practice these defensive shots. be able to use specialized equipment such as glasses. thermal sights to hunt wolves. Not only to be able to be more numerous; to carry out defensive shots, the cub scouts must be "more available", "more mobile" and "more efficient" according to plan. It is planned for this that the prefects of each department, in particular the sixty concerned by the presence of the wild animal , can designate wolf scouts specifically responsible for managing authorized shooting of wolves. The firing protocol will also be simplified. with the end of the obligation for wolf scouts to light the animal before shooting. By announcing such simplification measures for wolf shooting, the government is responding to requests from the FNSEA, the main agricultural union, which complained about too many wolf shootings. your attacks by wolves within the livestock farms. But this wolf plan arouses the anger of environmental associations and organizations which denounce and regret a "very bad" signal with the facilitation and increase of third parties in 2023. "It will absolutely not solve the problem" according to Sandrine Bélier who represents the Humanité and Biodiversity and contacted by AFP. "Worse, çit may even make it worse by dispersing the packs, which will lead to more attacks by lone wolves' quot; added C&dric Marteau, general director of the League for the Protection of Birds, to the press agency. The policy on wolf shooting is not justified for Jean-David Abel of France Nature Environnement (FNE) who ensures franceinfothat despite the "fairly important" of the wolf population in recent years, "the damage [on livestock] has stagnated for six years. Last year again, they even fell. The environmental defender understands the simplification of shots even less as it is, according to him, not the most effective method for avoiding attacks in comparison with "the  ;protection dogs, electric fences and human presence" : "It is the dogs who are the most effective first. [They] do 90% of the work. Wolves are still considered a protected species, because their conservation is threatened despite recent developments. their return observed in the Alps and other territories for thirty years. "Unlike à what the Minister of Agriculture says, the good state of conservation has absolutely not been proven. in France" insists Jean-David Abel who believes that the wolf plan will "above all [lead] & kill more wolves. More than 1,100 wolves were recorded in France at the last count of the Office French for Biodiversity in 2023. But this number would be underestimated. according to breeders who blame wolves for attacks on 12,000 livestock in 2022. Of these thousand wolves, the plan in force allows them to be killed. cull 209, or 19% of the total population. However, regulation of the wolf population seems necessary for the future. believe the suggestions of Nicolas Jean, specialist in large predators & the French office for biodiversity, reported by franceinfo, which judges the animal is in capacity to resettle throughout France & the horizon 2045 or 2050.
A "very bad" signal for environmental defense
Wolves, another hope in danger ?
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116