It was one o’clock in the morning on the night of Friday 11 to Saturday 12 October 2024 when Catherine Balbis, sheep breeder and hay producer at Mas des Chênes, in Saint-Martin-de-Crau, started to worry. “My shepherd called me to tell me that all the sheep had left the outdoor pen at night, before crossing the road to return to the sheepfold. They’re usually quiet, so we closed the whole park.“
It was only an hour later, during her lambing check round, that she understood the extent of the damage to her flock in the middle of the lambing period: “At 2 a.m., while walking among the sheep, we saw one of them with a bloody throat, says the angry breeder, still traumatized by the scene. We decided to check the open night park on the other side of the road, and several sheep were injured, lying on the ground. Then suddenly I saw eyes in the darkness, I got closer, and it was a wolf. I only saw one, but there’s no doubt it was a wolf“, assures Catherine Balbis, used to staying in the mountains with her herds.
Saturday October 12, the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM 13) came to observe the injuries on site. 17 sheep were attacked out of the 200 that were outside during the night, most of them having their throats and legs cut open.
