Macron: More wolves must be killed to protect farmers’ animals

French President Emmanuel Macron has said a new law may be necessary to allow more wild wolves to be culled in France, citing their growing threat to livestock.

“We’re not going to let the wolf develop and go into [areas] where it competes with our activities,” Macron said during a public event on July 3 in Aveyron, Caliber.Az report citing a Politico article.

He criticized EU lawmakers for making rules without understanding rural life, suggesting they spend nights in areas where wolves and bears live.

France has seen a sharp rise in wolf attacks on livestock, with over 10,000 animal deaths reported annually in recent years. In May, the European Parliament approved a change to the EU Habitats Directive, downgrading the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected” status. The shift was championed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose pet pony was killed by a wolf in 2022.

The directive, set to take effect July 14, will ease restrictions for farmers to shoot threatening wolves, with full national implementation required by January 2027.

By Nazrin Sadigova