Pastoral Husbandry in Ariège: Animal Vulnerability on Rangelands, Adaptations to Accompaniment Measures of the Brown Bear (Ursus artos) Reintroduction and Conservation Plan in French Pyrenees 2006-2009 and Farming System evolutions

Chapter 3: Results and discussion

3.1 Results

3.1.1 General characteristics of pastoral husbandry in Ariège

In Ariège, pastoral husbandry is the combination of individual and collective practices, collective practices being the decision-making rule. This is in accordance with the work of Darré (1999), who stipulates that in the field of socio-anthropology, practices are seen as social, constructed. Thus, a local professional group^10(*) (LPG), develops a set of references directing how each member of this group sees reality and considers its actions. Here, because of the «natural handicap^11(*)», breeders keep small seize flocks and have diversified farms. They practise free ranging and mating, less investments, transhumance^12(*) for the production of «Broutard» and «light/unfinished lambs». Because of winter and its snow layer they must constitute reserves for at least three moths for trough feeding. Contrary to the ancestral tradition whereby individual management were the rule, 100 beasts in the flock of the same breeder an exception, today the exception has been multiplied by 10 and collective management the rule. Nevertheless, beasts are still free ranging either in parks near the farm or in quarters of the intermediary zone or MSP. The activity is under the control of breeder's syndicate, pastoral group, pastoral land association (PLA), pastoral federation, county council and council. Even if for agronomists and animal scientists, pastoralism set of references are non-standard, the result of this production system is satisfactory considering the ratio output/input. Anyway, if the system were not sustainable it would have not been affected as many people and civilization all over this «economic world». Here, the way people organize their agricultural work on a daily basis takes into account the characteristics of climate. The local knowledge on climate and its variations in time and space, and forecasting techniques are essential elements for survival for these breeders. The freedom value refers to economical, technical and sanitary logic. In short, in this "free" husbandry the fundamentals of the zoohygiène seem to be respected.

Diagram 3: Flock management all over the production year

In summary, pastoral farms in Ariège have farmers or farm leaders of 45 to 60 years old, much of them ignore if there will be a succession by their progeniture even if they would like to, they breed local breeds (Tarascon and Castillon for sheep, Gascon for cattle and pigs, Merens for horses). They keep less animal per herd (150 to 500 sheep, 50 to 150 cattle) because, even if there is abundant grass in MSP, they should take into account the carrying capacity of their farm and their forage autonomy level. They practice a collective management system on MSP and or on Intermediary Zone (IZ) which dictate the practices on the individual farm. They are in a situation of economic precariousness (their income built up of 50 to 80% subsidies) and human abandonment (less than 15% succession certitude) and are diversified. Husbandry activity alternates between the farm head quarter, IZ and MSP with a free ranging and mating, influenced by the PG rules^13(*). For autumn lambing, lambs are weaned after two months of suckling and sold as «light lambs» or «finished lambs» for hillside farmers; for spring lambing, lambs wean oneself naturally and are sold as «Broutard» at the MSP coming down (see the opposite diagram 3). Farmers recognise manure, animal work, lambs, calve, wool, landscape and biodiversity as the products of their activity. In that system; we noted 0,95-1 lamb weaned per ewe per year and 1 calf per cow per year, 100-120% prolificacy, age at first lambing 15-18 months for ewes and 3 years for cows; reform age 6 years for ewes and more than 13 years for cows, as the reproduction performances. These performances are good compared to inputs and the ratio output/input of other production systems. In short, it can be considered as advantage of this system: quality of products, yield/profit (even if fecundity and prolificacy are weak or poor), easily settlement of farm, and environmental qualities of practices. In other hand, weaknesses of the system are: fragility and instability (no flexibility, no alternatives^14(*) or less), much more time at/of work.

* ¹⁰ Group of people engaged in the same activity, in a close environment.

* ¹¹ This is today concept because in the past, when agriculture were still traditional, plain and plateau lands were less fertile than mountain one and because of machinery and fertilizers mountain are today set to be handicapped (B. Besche-Commenge, 2008. personal communication).

* ¹² It is a constraint by definition however we are totally free and have free will to manage this constraint besides we manage it perfectly but the bear presence is a permanent and unpredictable constraint. (Madeleine Maylin, 2006. public display at Arbas).

* ¹³ When there is not ram on the MSP two mating periods targeted spring and autumn; when the ram is on the MSP then mating period is from May to October and even December.

* ¹⁴ This is contrary to the results of the work of Duru and al. (1979) for who the only positive point of Pyrenean pastoralism were its great adaptability to external constraints thanks to varieties of productions types and speculations.