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Video length: 3 min
Jura: Dairy farmers’ solutions to protect themselves from wolf attacks
Jura: Dairy farmers’ solutions to protect themselves from wolf attacks
(France 2)
The European Union has given the green light to lower the protection status of wolves from strict to simple. It will be possible to eliminate them in regions where they are considered too numerous. This could be the case in the Jura, where these predators attack cows.
It is a vast territory of forests and pastures in the heart of the Jura, but also a land of dairy farming that has lost its tranquility. Three weeks ago, in a meadow in Mouthe (Doubs), Julien Letoublon found one of his calves dead, attacked by wolves. A second one was apparently killed a week later, only on another pasture.Losing an animal in this way is very hard morally. They are not just numbers, they are animals that have names, a history” he confides.
For three years, wolf predation has been increasing in the area. 15 attacks on cattle were recorded in Doubs in 2024 by wolves, filmed by cameras installed near pastures. An upheaval in the AOP Comté region, where herds are left to roam free. Loïc Scalabrino, has done his best “night rounds“, that ““is not enough”. So with the Regional Biodiversity Agency, he is testing protection systems, such as anti-wolf collars or electric fences.
In 17 municipalities, the conditions for shooting wolves have been relaxed, for the duration of an experiment. Two years ago, Claire Guyon invested in a dog, which watches over her flock day and night.The most proven method“, according to her.
Among Our Sources
- Government
- Aids against predation
- Prefecture of Doubs
- Regional Biodiversity Agency of Burgundy-Franche-Comté
- Agricultural unions (Fdsea, Young farmers, Peasant Confederation)
- Doubs Chamber of Agriculture
- Nature Defense Associations Association (Férus, LOP, France Nature Environnement, Le Pôle Grands Prédateurs)
Non-exhaustive list