Wolves were thought to be extinct in France since the 1930s but now the country hosts a population of around 200. Decades of urbanization, cultural Marxism and radical environmentalism have created a perfect storm that is consuming French livestock as the fearless wolves are protected from hunting and strict anti-gun laws and a anti-traditionalist culture has made it impossible to find people to hunt the wolves even if the state deems a wolf too dangerous.
From WaToday.com:
A bloody, stinking sheep’s carcass greets shepherd Yves Vignon as he walks to check on his flock on the foggy Alpine heights. It’s the 17th of his ewes to be savaged in a month.
The mountains over Grenoble were once an ideal grazing ground for his 900 sheep. But now, after long banishment, the wolves are back – bolder and hungrier than ever.
“We came to this spot on June 24. A week later we were attacked” by wolves, Vignon, 62, said. It was the first of at least four attacks over the past month.
A bloody, stinking sheep’s carcass greets shepherd Yves Vignon as he walks to check on his flock on the foggy Alpine heights. It’s the 17th of his ewes to be savaged in a month.
The mountains over Grenoble were once an ideal grazing ground for his 900 sheep. But now, after long banishment, the wolves are back – bolder and hungrier than ever.
“We came to this spot on June 24. A week later we were attacked” by wolves, Vignon, 62, said. It was the first of at least four attacks over the past month.
“Every morning when I get up, I wonder what I am going to find on the spot where the sheep have spent the night,” he says. “I’m not here to feed those wolves!”
[…]
Regional authorities estimate the French wolf population at between 170 and 200 this year, up from 140 to 170 last year. The government says wolves killed 1329 animals, mostly sheep, in France this year up to July 22.
“We are beginning to wonder if there is a type of wolf that has no fear … since humans are not doing anything to them,” says Pascal Grosjean, a French government wolf expert.
One such pack of fearless wolves swooped on a flock in broad daylight under the noses of two shepherds and five sheep dogs in the Alps in November 2010, Grosjean said.
European Union law forbids Vignon to reach for a rifle to solve his wolf problem, though as a last resort authorities can authorise the strategic shooting of a particularly deadly wolf, up to a limit of six per year.
Police in the Alps told AFP they had authorised one such hit last weekend after a wolf devoured 10 sheep and sent a further 62 in panic plunging to their deaths in a ravine. Thirty went missing in the overnight attack.
State officials have suggested Vignon fence his sheep in with electric wire – not a practical option in the remote, rocky spots where he grazes his flocks.
He has considered using fierce mountain sheep dogs to protect his flock, but hesitates for fear they may bite passing hikers.
“Protection measures are never 100 per cent effective because the wolf can exploit the slightest weakness,” said Grosjean.
The state has already paid out 364,000 euros ($483,000) to farmers and shepherds such as Vignon this year to compensate them for their mauled sheep.
And so far there has been know real solution. One thing is certain – the French government won’t indefinitely pay ranchers for sheep that are killed and ranchers won’t stay in an untenable position. The Wolves will drive the ranchers out of business sooner or later.
Meanwhile packs of fearless wolves roaming a countryside full of unarmed peasants seems like a recipe for disaster. I’d say I’m glad we’re not in France but plenty of our states have basically the same situation.