Before his festive trip to the Tour de France, the Head of State was expected on the thorny subject of the wolf.
Emmanuel Macron announced, this Thursday, measures to reassure sheep breeders in the Hautes-Pyrénées, who expressed their concerns to him after the first wolf attacks.
During a meeting lasting more than an hour in Argelès-Gazost, the President of the Republic assured representatives of breeders that a "wolf intervention brigade" would be created by the summer of 2023 to the Pyrenees and the south of the Massif Central, where the number of gray wolves is increasing.
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So far, there is only one brigade of this kind based in Gap and intervening mainly in the Alps, the region where this natural and protected predator is most present.
Composed of about ten civil servants, this force intervenes in support of the stockbreeders who undergo repeated attacks and patrols in the alpine pastures where they can carry out defensive fire against the wolves.
This brigade was recently deployed temporarily in the Hautacam sector, on the heights of the Hautes-Pyrénées, after protests by breeders attributing the death of around fifty ewes to one or more wolves since the beginning of May.
Thermal binoculars, nets and patou dogs…
These wolf attacks “cause immense damage to our herds and our way of working.
They jeopardize the balance of our livelihood, ”testified Étienne Lay, breeder and elected representative in Campans, after the meeting.
“The president has listened to us, he has taken note and we are waiting for action,” he added, stressing that the breeders had already had to adapt to the growing presence of bears in the massif.
Emmanuel Macron also promised the breeders of the Hautes-Pyrénées that the State would support them in taking measures to protect the herds (nets, presence of shepherds and patou dogs at night, etc.).
Technical support, in particular with the supply of thermal binoculars, will be provided to the lieutenants of louveterie, the team of volunteers placed under the authority of the prefect.
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Reacting to the president's remarks, the FNSEA indicated that it "will ensure that no administrative obstacle hinders the operationality of the two wolf brigades equipped with adequate equipment so that they can carry out the regulatory samples: at least 174 wolves in 2022”.
The gray wolf, which returned to France on its own from Italy, has experienced favorable demographic dynamics for 10 years, and the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) estimates its population at between 826 and 1,016 individuals.
