French Farmers Want War on Wolves
Thirty sheep were killed by wolves in France yesterday
This time last year, farmers in France were marching flocks of sheep across the Place de la Republique in Paris to draw attention to the number of their sheep that were being killed by wolves. In the 1930s, the wolf was deemed extinct in France. In the 1990s a few animals crossed from Italy into France via the Alps and their numbers have been growing slowly but steadily ever since. There have now even been sightings in the Pyrenees. What might be considered to be a rare environmental step in the right direction has ignited huge conflict in this country.
Wolves once ranged freely throughout Europe. In the United Kingdom they were so numerous that a criminal sentenced to death could have his sentence commuted if he produced enough wolf tongues each year. King Edward I (1272–1307) ordered them to be exterminated altogether. By the end of the reign of King Henry VII (1485–1509) there were no wolves left on that island. Across the whole of Europe, wolf numbers stand at just 17 000.
The return of wolves to France was greeted with celebration by environmentalists and nature lovers, but sheep and goat farmers were not as enthusiastic. They immediately saw the predator as a threat to their livelihoods which have already been severely eroded by many other…
