Call for rubber bullets to head off wolves

WOLVES are prowling so close to schools and villages in the mountains of northern Italy that wildlife rangers want permission to ward them off with rubber bullets.

Authorities in Trentino, a province in the Dolomites, have requested permission from the government in Rome for rangers to use the ammunition if the wolves get too close to inhabited areas.

Wolves are a protected species in Italy and it is only in exceptional circumstances that permission is granted to kill them. The request was made as photographs emerged of children from an elementary school in the alpine village of Canazei watching a wolf loping across a field just a few hundred yards from their playground.

It appeared to have the remains of a mouflon, a type of wild sheep, in its jaws. “There’s a wolf living very close to Canazei and we have asked permission from the ministry to use rubber bullets in order to drive it away,” said Michele Dallapiccola, a councillor with responsibility for environmental affairs in the provincial government.

Experts believe the wolf may be suffering from scabies or mange, weakening its immune system and driving it in search of easier prey. “That could explain the change in behaviour of the wolf in question,” said Mr Dallapiccola.