Emblem of Poitou, threatened with disappearance and true force of nature, the donkey may have found a new job: herd guard against ... wolves!
Seen in Charente and Charente-Maritime in recent months, Canis lupus reminded some local breeders of this predisposition of the most imposing donkey with the famous angora hair. “The donkey can really intimidate canines. Unlike a horse that will flee, this donkey will attack to defend its territory. From the front, biting and tapping with the forelegs ”, confirms Ophélie Lecampion, project manager with the National Association of Mulatto Breeds of Poitou.
The donkey "has a very protective instinct"
Under his placid air, the Poitou donkey would thus offer a serious track to sheep breeders confronted in France with wolf attacks. This is what Benoît Biteau, EELV MEP, peasant and himself a donkey breeder defends: “This donkey has a very protective instinct, it is extremely aggressive towards canids and can protect goats or sheep against their attacks. "
In recent years, the elected official has experienced this skill in Saint-Agnant, a village near Rochefort. “The mayor asked me. The sheep used for the maintenance of a municipal meadow were often attacked by dogs, stray or not. The day before the donkeys arrived, eight sheep had even been killed. But since then, there has never been an attack, ”explains Benoît Biteau. For him, the Poitou donkeys would therefore offer "effective protection" of the herds in collaboration with the patou, a protection dog already used by sheep breeders.
The proven presence of the wolf is in any case a real opportunity to revive the breeding of donkey. Its race, attested from the tenth century, almost died out with the motorization of agriculture. In 1977, only 44 individuals were still listed on the planet. "We are close to extinction," sums up Ophélie Lecampion.
Used as a breeder to give birth to powerful mules, the donkey was very popular in the past. "And those who were excluded from breeding were already used to keep the herds," recalls Benoît Biteau. But there was a break in the transmission of this know-how, we forgot that the wolf was afraid of this donkey… ”
To avoid its extinction, a crossing plan was put in place in the early 1980s. Poitou donkeys are now estimated to number 2,800 worldwide. Last year, 110 births were registered. A figure in trompe l'oeil, in reality. "Ten years ago, we achieved 200 annual births," says Ophélie Lecampion.
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The State's withdrawal from the equine sector, both logistical and financial, contributed to curbing the rescue of this mulass breed. "The cost of a birth has been multiplied by three," she explains. Breeders sometimes feel discouraged. To raise public awareness and present the extraordinary capacities of this brave donkey, two donkeys from Poitou joined the aisles of the Agricultural Show this year, which ended this Saturday.