Last Sunday, October 13, a large canine was photographed in the town of Braud-et-Saint-Louis, in Haute-Gironde, the Gironde prefecture revealed this Monday, October 21 in a press release. According to the prefect, “these images were transmitted to the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) which was able to authenticate that it was a wolf. Previously, in this same geographical sector, or even last weekend in the Cézac sector, three cases of predation on sheep were reported: following the elements of expertise noted by the regional management of the OFB, the responsibility of the wolf is not ruled out.
“Which does not present a danger to the population”
The prefecture reminds that the wolf is a protected species which does not present a danger to the population but to the herds. The species is known for its great dispersal capacity, particularly during the search for territory phase. Its presence in the department is nevertheless a first for more than a century.
Faced with this situation, the prefect of Gironde, Étienne Guyoy, asked state public services and public service auxiliaries to increase vigilance in Blayais (North Gironde). It also invites residents of the area to immediately report any suspicion of predation on livestock (killed animals with bite marks and fresh consumption, injured animals with bite marks) to the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea, Water Service nature: 05 47 30 51 72 / [email protected] and also any visual observation of a lupoid type animal (wolf) at the departmental service of the French Biodiversity Office: 05 57 74 10 24 / sd33 @ofb.gouv.fr
A monitoring cell soon
He also asks breeders in the sector to shelter their herds, if possible, from the risk of predation. Intervention credits for the financing of protection or scaring equipment which can be made available to breeders who are victims of predation, are requested from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry.
