Thesis defence by Julie Duchene

Title: Les loups, de nuisibles à invisibles. Le rôle des politiques de lutte dans la disparition des loups des territoires wallon et luxembourgeois (18e-20e siècles)

At the beginning of the 20th century, a centuries-old battle came to an end on the borders of the Belgian Ardennes, the Namurois and the province of Liège. The wolf was extinct. Is the extinction of the wolf the culmination of several decades of continuous efforts to eradicate Canis lupus from the Belgian and Luxembourg landscapes? This doctoral research investigates the role of implemented policies in the 18th and 19th centuries in the disappearance of wolves from Wallonia and Luxembourg. Various sources (administrative archives, press, scientific and hunting literature, material) and a multi-faceted methodology (qualitative, quantitative, cartographic and genetic analyses) was applied to illuminate the introduced control measures and their effectiveness. It further examines the presence of the wolf in Wallonia and Luxembourg during these two centuries, how humans perceived it, as well as their coexistence. The story of a struggle and a multi-faceted relationship with the animal is revealed.

Julie will present the results of her PhD thesis, conducted in the History Department (PolleN), under the supervision of Isabelle Parmentier.

Further information in French.