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3.4 The role of the ‘Wolfhunter Royal’
Now I’m going to tell you the whole story of the wolf hunters, people who are officially responsible for trying to get rid of us … and today still exist. From 813, under the reign of Charlemagne, wolf hunts began to be organised: with the birth of the ‘louveterie’ and the hunters of wolves the ‘luparrii’. The ‘louveterie’s’ sole mission was to eradicate pests, and in particular the wolf, ‘the most harmful of all’ by all means available at the time.
A short history … on death’s row
In 1308, King Philip IV named the first title of ‘louvetier’ – literally the Wolfhunter Royal – a person directly responsible to the King to whom he takes an oath of fidelity.
Later in 1520, François 1st appointed a great French wolf hunter assisted by his lieutenants to rid the kingdom of these fearsome predators. These lieutenants were wholly dependent on the king and were particularly privileged because they paid no tax and received a bonus for each wolf killed.
In 1787, Louis XVI suppressed the wolf hunters under the pretext of economy. The reality was very different: they had become a nuisances … for example unemployed peasants were obliged to participate in the battles against the wolf by setting traps – and if they did not do so were fined…
From 1789, the right to hunt the animal was granted to all people living in the countryside.
In 1804, the Emperor Napoleon 1st reinstated the ‘louveterie’ by re establishing its legislative framework (which is still in force today).
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the numbers of wolves declined dramatically. The animal had been hunted by man for centuries but the ‘beginning of the end’ for the wild beast really began in 1882 with the adoption of a law that significantly increased the premiums paid for its elimination, which greatly incentivised the wolf hunters.
During the war of 1914-1918, the inhabitants of the countryside continued to hunt and kill the wolf, but in spite of this fierce war, the wolf still remains present in about thirty departments.
During the next thirty years a number of villages, departments and regions boasted of having killed their ‘last wolf’. From a time when a few hundred wolves were killed annually, the numbers reduced to a few tens or even a few units.
At the beginning of the XX1st century, the ‘corps des lieutenants de louveterie’ still exists, however, in 1971 its mission was modified by French law. Today, the ‘louveterie’ is in charge of controlling the number of certain species considered harmful and maintain the balance of wildlife. A question arises, does nature need man to intervene to regulate animal species?
Going for Gold questions?
When was the first wolfcatcher title given?
Which King removed the wolfcatchers for a period?
Do wolfcatchers still exist today?
