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news
Lupo Wolfie in Nijmegen, Giro d'Italia 2016 (Picture - ANSA, Claudio Peri).JPGFarmers demand that Giro's wolf mascot be banned from entering France
French farmers are demanding that the Giro d’Italia be banned from bringing its mascot – a wolf, or more precisely, a person in a wolf costume – to France when the race crosses the border later this month, saying its presence will be a “pure provocation” to Alpine farmers.
Lupo Wolfie has been the race’s official mascot since December 2015, replacing the previous mascot, a mountain goat named Girbecco.
This year’s 99th edition of the race heads crosses the border into France in its closing days, with Stage 19 finishing in Risoul and the following day’s penultimate stage beginning in Guillestre, both in the Hautes-Alpes department.
But JA 05, the local branch of national young farmers’ organisation Jeunes Agriculteurs, aren’t happy about Lupo Wolfie accompanying the race on its visit, reports the Dauphiné Libéré.
Livestock breeders have suffered for many years due to the predatory behaviour of wolves,” they said in a press release.
“Our union is fighting to carry out our profession with dignity, that is to say, to protect our herds and flocks from these predators.
“The use of such a mascot – moreover, one supported by environmental organisations – in the middle of our pastures is a pure provocation which is not humanly acceptable to our breeders.
“Farmers can no longer bear seeing the wolf presented to public opinion as a cute stuffed toy.”
According to Telegraph.co.uk, the wolf population in France has trebled over the past decade, and now numbers some 300 animals.
Growth in numbers has been accompanied by a rise in the number of attacks on livestock attributed to wolves, and the government has given the green-light to limited culls in areas most at risk.
However, with the wolf protected under the Bern convention, at most 36 animals a year can be killed.
JA 05 say they have asked local elected officials to ban Lupo Wolfie from the Hautes-Alpes.
“If nothing is done to make this mascot remain in Italy, we will take action,” they warn.
What form any action may take hasn’t been revealed. It’s clear though that for the region’s farmers, it is an emotive issue.
Last September, 50 of them “bossnapped” the president and the director of the Vanoise national park in the Hautes-Alpes after a meeting, holding them hostage in a town hall overnight and demanding more wolves be culled.
> French winemakers partner with Tour de France after blockade threats
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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17 comments
Did Lupo eat Girbecco?
Helmets for the sheep...that should keep them safe.
The sheep and the wolves just need to learn to share the space. Both need to take responsibility for keeping safe.
They do understand that Lupo Wolfie is just a man in a costume, don't they? And that man isn't Larry Talbot?
Would love to see wolves set loose in Richmond Park. Fenton would have nothing on the havoc caused. Yappy dogs would be on shorter, safer leads, and a certain edge created for the nighttime commute or trip home from the pub...
Yep. This is surely an useless protest, and there just as surely are sound arguments to be made for wolf reintroduction in Europe. But the tone with which the road.cc comentariat had thus far near-unanimously scolded others into being enthusiastic about the reintroduction of wolves in their communities is breathtaking. I hope you all are just as excited about the EU making the area where you live a reinvigorated wolf, bear and lynx habitat. Maybe dottigirl's idea might be taking it a bit to far, but she's on the right track, methinks. How about starting a petition to make just Broomfield Hill a haven for stray dogs, as a token gesture to show that cyclists are perfectly welcoming of the most harmless of canine species?
I personally would love to see wolves, bears and lynxes introduced to Bristol.
French livestock owners are compensated by the government for wolf kills. My family lives in an agricultural area of France and French farmers/livestock owners are the most conservative, obstinate, regressive, difficult people you are likely to meet. They will complain endlessly about the hardship of their lives, government regulation and how the country is going to hell in a handbasket while they have a brand new car in their driveway and tell you about their holiday in the Maldives.
I respect farmers and livestock owners butvthey are professionally pessimistic misery guts and institutionaly anti-environmental.
source: French person, Seine et Marne, France (no wolves but loads of boar)
Talk about hypocrisy. This is coming from a bunch of farmers who in 1990 gladly set fire to, slit the throats of, and doused in insecticde, several hundred sheep, when they felt their livelihoods were under threat from cheap meat imports. Yeah - they really care about livestock!
of course they care. It's their livelihood.
the plan to bring back wolves has to involve them eating sheep. As apex predators what else are they going to eat in Western Europe. Sure there are goats, deer and boar, but sheep are easy meat.
the farmers aren't mad at the mascot, they're just using it for political mileage.
I hope they catch the wolf responsible for these livestock attacks. If it looks anything like this mascot, someone is bound to recognise it.
This is part of a wider debate in france about wolves, particularly increasing wolf numbers and the pressure to have a (what many people would argue is unsustainable) hunting quota for wolves in france. There are echoes of this across europe, where carnivore numbers are increasing for various reasons.
And if you think the french farmers are anti-wolf, you should meet the norwegian lot!
I had no idea the Giro had a mascot. Lupo Wolfie is a horrible, mixed-up name. Surely it's the fault of some focus group. I'll be on the barricades with the Jeunes Agriculteurs. Bring back Girbecco.
Let's hope Yeti's never make it to the wild in France otherwise Skoda are screwed for the the TDF!
French farmers to the French must be akin to the English hooligan to the English......Utter embarrassment.
What if the wolves agree to drink only French wine? Blood red, of course.
It's fantastic that the wolf is making a comeback in Europe. I can see that it's irritating for sheep farmers, but with the right kind of dog, the sheep can be protected - plus, farmers are compensated for any animals killed by wolves.
Obviously, a wolf mascot should be a non-issue, but the French love any excuse for getting out and protesting.