The wolf could soon be less protected in the European Union; the Berne Convention is examining its status this week in early December. It could thus go from “strictly protected” to “protected” species, because it would represent a “real danger” according to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, contradicted by hundreds of NGOs. Some breeders try to live in harmony with predators.
From our special correspondent in Chemillé-en-Anjou,
On the Blottières farm, in Chemillé-en-Anjou, in Maine-et-Loire, to the northwest of the FranceBenoît Huntzinger puts on the agenda an ancestral practice for protect your flock of sheep. In this region where the wolf is returning little by little, it is a donkey who protects her 160 sheep, Castafiore, a donkey from Poitou. “ She lives outside with the sheep all year round.observes the farmer. We had her very, very young, which meant that there was a sort of impregnation. We are told that a donkey should never be alone, etc. In fact, she, yes, she can, because she is not alone, she is in the company of her friends ! »
Some may be surprised that a donkey, rather than a shepherd dog, defends the herd. However, the explanations are very simple: “ What you need to know is that a horse, a donkey, an equine, they have a horror of canines – dogs, foxes, wolves. So a horse, when it sees danger, its solution is to flee. A donkey is territorial. When there is danger, he will first start by defending his territory, explains Benoît Huntzinger. Castafiore, her territory, she shares it with our sheep. And we saw him do it. I can tell you that it is effective. »
Result, the donkey has the trust of the sheep : ” It is [Castafiore] the guardian and the sheep know it. And when there is danger, all the sheep group together and put themselves behind Castafiore in relation to the danger. So, she will go see what it is and she will, if necessary, do what is necessary. So, we will say: the day there is a wolf, your donkey will not last long. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a donkey take care of a wild boar or anything like that, it can be very, very violent! »
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Predation that has decreased by 90%
And the results are there. Since its arrival, predation has decreased by 90%. “ Today, I am a peaceful breeder. I have a completely acceptable level of predation, testifies the farmer. There are other aspects that are very important to me. The advantage that our donkey Castafiore has is that she eats the same thing as the animals she protects and that is extraordinary. The other aspect, unlike protection dogs, there is no risk for walkers and cyclists of being attacked by our donkey. We have rarely seen a Poitou donkey chasing a cyclist. For us, this allows us to have peaceful cohabitation between the different users of the countryside and our space on the farm.. »
But Benoît Huntzinger readily admits, he didn’t invent anything. This method was simply forgotten: “ A century ago, when the wolf was even more massively present than today, there was a Breton saying which said: “Where there are sheep, there must be a donkey.” In fact, it’s an old technique, which we’re just trying to bring up to date, perhaps in a slightly modernized way. And again, that’s an understatement. » With the support of CNRS scientists who, thanks to this breeder, can update their data, to more widely rehabilitate this technique at a time when wolf protection could be reduced by the European Union.
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