A new estimate of the number of wolves in France is creating controversy: there are 906 for 2022-2023, a slight decrease compared to the year before. And what makes agricultural organizations jump, but also associations for the defense of nature.
According to the estimate of the French Office for Biodiversity, there are 906 gray wolves in France. A figure down slightly from last year when 921 wolves were counted. This figure is established from clues collected in the field via cameras hidden in the middle of nature and by the analysis of droppings, hair, paw prints left on the snow in winter.
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As each clue can belong to one wolf as well as to several wolves, the Biodiversity Office then carries out genetic analyses. He pours everything into mathematical modeling software, which allows certain variables such as the mortality of the species to be taken into account. This is how he obtains this estimate from a scientific protocol.
If we do the accounts each year, it is above all to be able to establish the number of wolves that can be killed. It should be remembered that the wolf disappeared from French territory in the 1930s due to being hunted. Since then, it has been a protected species. It is moreover this status which allowed him to resurface in France, in the 90s via Italy.
The slaughter of wolves in question
However, as it is a species that also attacks herds, the French State authorizes a certain number of derogatory shootings each year. This scale corresponds to 19% of the estimated average number of wolves. Last year, it was 174. And inevitably, this year, it will be less. Hence the beginning of controversy, because French breeders believe that there are many more wolves in France.
According to National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA), herd attacks are up 16% year on year. She therefore asks the government to be able to kill more wolves. Conversely, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the defense of animals are calling for fewer derogatory shootings. They remind us that if the species is “demographically viable“She’s not yet”genetically viable“. In other words, there are not yet enough wolves to rule out any risk of inbreeding that could weaken the species.
It is for this reason that the animal remains on the list of protected species in France: for it to come out, the wolf population would have to exceed 1,000 individuals for several years in a row. Hence, again, the importance of quantifying its presence.