With 580 individuals in France, gray wolves are more and more numerous on the territory, according to a new census. But specialists are trying to understand why the increase in this population has stalled compared to 2019 when breeders denounce the attacks on their herds.
"The estimated workforce is 580 at the end of winter," said the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB) to AFP. They were 530 a year earlier. "The dynamics of population growth is slowing down" with "a declining survival rate", the reasons still to be studied. A year ago, the adult population had increased by 100 individuals, passing the 500 mark.
A carnivore present in only certain regions
The wolf plan adopted in 2018 provided that this threshold would not be reached until 2023. It corresponds to the ability of a population in the medium term (100 years) "to resist the risk of extinction". "There are still no packs formed outside the Alps and the Jura", even if the wolf can be present permanently in other regions and that solitary individuals could be observed until the Center or in Normandy, according to the OFB.
These carnivores, eradicated by humans in the 1930s and returned naturally by Italy in the 1990s, are concentrated in the Alps, the Southeast and the East.
The increasing presence of the predator is being combated by breeders who denounce attacks against their herds. In a joint press release, eight agricultural federations and breeders, including the FNSEA, criticized "repeated attacks (...) the delays in payments observed for the funding of protection means and compensation for damage".
3,700 attacks in 2019
In 2019, 3,742 attacks took place against 12,451 animals, mostly sheep, according to official figures. More than 7.4 million sheep are present in France, with more than 21,000 professional sheep breeders, according to the National Sheep Federation (FNO). The State finances protective devices in predation areas (electrified parks, dogs, guarding by shepherds).
Although the gray wolf is a protected species in France and in Europe, a quota is fixed each year authorizing to kill some. This quota is currently 17 to 19% of the estimated population. In 2019, a hundred wolves were taken. The wolf can also be a victim of poaching or road accidents.
Planet
Seine-Maritime: "Except the big urban centers, the whole of the French territory can suit the wolf"
Planet
Indre: The passage of a lone wolf identified near Châteauroux
- Planet
- Animals
- Census
- Wolf