European farmers are suggesting that wolves have recovered too much, is that true?

There is heavy pressure to end wolf protection in the EU because farmers are suggesting that they have recovered to too great a degree.

With intelligent animals like wolves, deterrents are often more successful than defence. The deep bark of dogs make wolves think that the are really big, and that it is too much of a risk to attack

It is true that where wolves have returned, it may well make farming harder, but to suggest that they have fully returning is foolish.

There are still well under 1000 wolves in the country (2021 estimate was 580 in the country) and one of the ways that you can be sure this is manageable is the fact that the majority of people arguing for more to be killed will exaggerate the population size or the damage done.

There is also a large population of wild herbivores in France, and these need predators to be kept in check.

Now it is true, that France is loosing a significant number of sheep each year (about 10,000) however, what has been seen in places like Romania, is that simple things can greatly reduce the risk, such as big sheepdogs.

The other side of things is the positive. It is highly likely that many sheep farmers in remote parts of France, could greatly increase their income by building a wolf hide in places where the wolves are seen regularly and the new income would greatly outweigh any losses from predation.

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