Days numbered for French wolf accused of heifer killing
LYON, France (AFP) – Authorities ordered the shooting of a wolf suspected of killing five heifers, after the failure of efforts to capture it alive and put it in a wildlife park.
A statement said forestry agents would track down the wolf and attempt to kill it.
It was the latest episode in a controversy surrounding a small number of wolves that crossed the border from Italy in 1992 to make their home in the French Alps, where they are now multiplying.
Livestock farmers are campaigning angrily against the protected species, saying the predators are killing increasing numbers of sheep and calves.
They have successfully lobbied for the authorities to cull a number of wolves, although the operation is bitterly contested by environmentalists and has yet to take place.
The latest wolf hunt “has nothing to do with” the cull, which was scheduled to take place between 2005 and 2008, an official at the ecology ministry told AFP.
According to the official estimates, made last November, there were 55 wolves in 13 Alpine areas.
Green groups say that despite the livestock losses — which in any case are compensated by the government — the wolves can bring money into the region through environmental tourism.