"Once hunted to extinction in France, wolves began crossing over from Italy after gaining protected status under the 1979 Bern Convention. But they have been killing more livestock, too, with 12,000 farm animals lost last year, according to preliminary figures. Under current rules, farmers can only shoot wolves if they attack animals inside a protected enclosure -- a restriction centrist President Emmanuel Macron's government said would now be relaxed."
"Wolf protections are getting a downgrade across the European Union, after EU lawmakers last year approved reducing wolves' status from 'strictly protected' to 'protected'. The change -- condemned by environmentalists -- was spearheaded by the party of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who lost her beloved pony Dolly to a wolf attack in northern Germany in 2022. The new French shift comes at a time when the country's farmers have been flexing their political muscle."
France will authorise shooting wolves that attack livestock even outside protected enclosures, relaxing previous rules that limited shootings to attacks inside protected pens. Wolves recolonised France from Italy after gaining protected status under the 1979 Bern Convention. Predation has increased, with preliminary figures showing 12,000 farm animals lost last year. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said farmers will have the right to shoot to protect their herds. Environment Minister Mathieu Lefevre said the change will be formalised in an executive order in the coming weeks. The move follows an EU downgrade of wolf protections and comes amid heightened farmer unrest over trade and other policies.
Read at The Local France
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]