Historically, the wolf was man’s enemy . In old times, in the country, to drive the wolf away people just had to dance, making a lot of noise with their clogs , All means were used to eradicate the wolf: they were hunted, beaten, trapped, poisoned, and cubs were killed in their dens ..
The wolf has been persecuted by humans for centuries and disappeared from French soil in 1939, so only sixty years ago . In Brittany the wolves disappeared earlier at the beginning of the 20th century or even at the end of the 19th in many villages of Central Brittany.
At the time, killing wolves was rewarded with bonuses. To get the bonuses the hunters had to bring evidence for example the wolf’s head ,
But some hunters always kept the same head to receive a bonus they did not deserve.
So the administration decided to keep the wolf’s head not to have to deal with these deceptions.
The wolf was the worst enemy of the shepherd and his flock of animals. Wolf hunts were organized to exterminate the breed. Now the wolf is a protected animal because it is endangered .
Historiquement, l’homme était l’ennemi du loup. Dans le temps, dans la campagne, pour faire fuir le loup, il suffisait de danser en faisant claquer ses sabots. Ainsi, tous les moyens ont été utilisés pour l’éradication du loup : Ils ont été chassés, battus, piégés, empoisonnés, et les louveteaux ont été tués dans leurs tanières (en Bretagne on utilisait de la strychnine).
Le loup a été persécuté par l’homme pendant des siècles, et a disparu du sol français en 1939 il y a 60 ans. En Bretagne les loups ont disparu plus tôt au tout début du 20e siècle (dans certains endroits) ou même à la fin du 19e siècle dans de nombreux villages en Bretagne centrale .
Autrefois, on tuait les loups pour avoir une prime, Pour avoir celle-ci, il fallait ramener la preuve que l’on avait tué un loup, la tête coupée suffisait ! Mais certains chasseurs apportaient toujours la même tête pour recevoir une prime qu’ils ne méritaient pas ! Alors, l’administration, décida de garder la tête du loup coupé à chaque fois qu’un chasseur se présentait. Des chasses aux loups on été organisées pour exterminer la race. Mais ce massacre est maintenant arrêté car les loups sont protégés.
Bravo Léna, Amélie, Naël et Margaux.
Cet animal fascinant qui a subi tous les outrages de la part des hommes se trouve réhabilité dans le film de Nicolas Vanier: Loup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7fdAuGJ9s0
Une idée de cadeau de Noël d’autant plus qu’un livre est également disponible. Je l’ai commandé au Père Noël
Congratulations Léna, Amélie, Naël and Margaux. You did a great job here. Thank you very much. Your visit to the Museum of the Wolf has been worth-while
I have read the book and loved every page of it. Thank you for posting the link to the Utube extract of the film inspired from Nicolas Vanier’s book “Loup”. It makes me want not to miss watching it because it shows how nature and man are essential to eachother’s survival.
I also think you have done a great job. Wolves did not deserve all these tortures and although they remain dangerous animals, it is a good thing that they should be protected in our country now. Some precautions have to be taken of course when they are reintroduced in an area where there are farms with animals but I can’t understand this harassment they have been the victims of. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learnt at the museum of the wolf and the fruit of your research.
Thank you girls for the interesting information about wolves in Brittany. After reading Mrs Isabelle’s comment and the post of the roumanians about the same animal, I thought once more how wise ancient Greeks were when they were talking about the measure in our lives. I agree with your teacher.
I very much enjoyed taking part of your interesting information about
wolves. We have quite a few of them in Sweden and there is a never-
ceasing discussion going on whether their number should be reduced or
not . They are a nuisance to the Lapps and their reindeer in the very
north of our country and as some wolves venture to go south, sheepfarmers
and also other people fear them and would like to see more of these protected
animals diminish in number .
Gunnel Karlsson , Linköping ,Sweden
Thank you very much Gunnel for sharing information about this controversial issue. It is true that wolves can cause damage among farm animals and you say the reindeer too!
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