This Sunday, 350 protesters gathered at Place Massรฉna to protest against wolf hunting and the “culling permits” authorized by the Government. Thirteen associations called for the protest following the one in Lyon, which brought together 2,500 people.
Following the killing of 14 wolves in the Alpes-Maritimes department, the environmental association Green, along with 12 other associations, decided to respond. With wolf masks and signs saying “Stop the wolf genocide,” many protesters showed their anger.
For Michรจle, General Secretary of the animal collective, the Government’s decision to continue the hunt is a catastrophe. “The policy of the French State is destructive; we must promote the return of the wild in France. The increase in the number of sheep is due to the wolf problem. Wolves are timid and are really not a danger to humans.”
Among the protesters, not everyone shares the same opinion. Rudy, for instance, came to defend the position of the shepherds. “I have many shepherd friends, and they suffer from the wolf problem. Today, a shepherd needs to have at least 1,000 animals if he wants to live well; it’s an enormous economic cost for them. Plus the wolf problem, it becomes too complicated. I support moderate wolf hunting because the abolition of hunting certainly won’t resolve the situation.”
The procession of protesters then headed towards the courthouse, located a few meters away, eventually ending peacefully. Sรฉbastien Valenbois, megaphone in hand, shouted his discontent to the crowd. “All wolves are hunted indiscriminately; if an Alpha is killed, the wolves might start attacking anything.”
