“We cannot invite breeders to become illegal,” reacts the Minister of Agriculture

Annie Genevard was at the top of Cournon breeding while the president of Haute-Saône farmers called on breeders in his department to “go out armed” and “hit” wolves in order to protect their herds.

She announced this move when she took office. The Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard went to the top of the Cournon breeding farm, near Clermont-Ferrand, in Puy-de-Dôme. She announced that a compensation fund for breeders faced with bluetongue, this epizootic which decimates sheep and sheep farms. The Prime Minister is due to present the details on Friday. But the new minister was questioned on another subject of concern: the wolf.

The subject has been revived since the recent letter from the president of the Haute-Saône Chamber of Agriculture, which asks breeders to “go out armed” For “hit a wolf”. The author of this letter, Thierry Chalmin, is not present at the breeding summit but his call for civil disobedience, as he said in the press, is supported by many breeders. “I understand that we would almost be able to finance additional operations to gain efficiencydeclares Michel Pelestor who comes from Digne-les-Bains in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. There are many breeders who have equipped themselves and when we put 10 000 euros in a weapon when we could put them in genetics, we have passed the threshold.”

“We have 600 attacks in the department, and we must have around twenty attacks a year. We lose around 150 sheep. We are not paid to find corpses, we are there to take care of the sheep.”

Michel Pelestor, breeder in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

at franceinfo

There was also this leaflet this summer in Haute-Vienne from the Rural Coordination, the third agricultural union, which offers 1,000 euros for each wolf killed. Minister Annie Genevard understands the anger but calls for calm: “I think this is not the right way to approach the subject at all. I understand what motivates her, but I think things need to be treated differently and with respect. I say that farmers who would do this would be in breach of the law because it is illegal. So we cannot invite farmers to become illegal. They could face up to three years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros.

The presence of wolves – currently a thousand in France – also worries for the future of pastoralism. Christine Valentin, in charge of the issue for the Massif Central, calls on the minister. According to her, breeding in natural pastures suffers: “Today, the best solution to protect sheep is to return them to the sheepfold. This has a very harmful effect on pastoralism and it is a very strong subject.”

“No one here is saying that we must eradicate the wolf, I would just like to put an end to preconceived ideas and simplificationsrecalls the minister. Simply, we must give breeders the opportunity to make a living from their work. What happened at the level of the European Union, with the agreement of the Member States, is still a considerable step forward.” The European Union wants to move from a “strict protection” to a “simple protection”which would make it easier to eliminate wolves but this must still be confirmed.