For fifteen years, the Friborg David Hanguely has passed his winters outside. Itinerant pastre, he takes his herd through fields and forests to fatten the animals. We followed him in the heart of the mist
Posted January 26, 2025 at 10:42. / Modified January 26, 2025 at 10:43 am.
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The fog is dense this morning in December. Nearly near the forest only appears to be trees, such as a pencil stroke in this monochrome landscape. Only the thin layer of snow that cries under the steps breaks the silence when, suddenly, the tingling of a bell sounds. While no breeder would risk taking out his cows out of such a cold, the carillon reoffends until revealing a discreet presence behind the first row of trees.
Each step towards the forest reveals a little more of the scene which has been played so far in the most total hiding. A man is calmly busy through the fir trees, accompanied by two dogs, two donkeys and no less than 700 sheep. “It’s been more than a week since I saw the sun,” sighs David Hanguely, shepherd in charge of the herd whose animals are watching for signs of an imminent departure. For three months, from November to February, the Friborg pastre leads his sheep through the meadows of the Romand Plateau, from North Vaud to La Broye. According to his estimates, there are only fifteen to exercise this profession every winter in Switzerland.
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