An attempt by French officials to tempt a group of 50 runaway bulls back to their pasture near Marseille by using heifers in heat has proven unsuccessful — because most of the fugitive bovines are castrated.
The wild bunch of bulls wandered away from their enclosure near the village of Saint Remy de Provence December 7 and have resisted efforts to tempt them back.
On Tuesday, local authorities fearing for the animals’ safety and that of residents and tourists introduced the females into the grazing land, saying they would be the “ultimate weapon” to lure the vagrant bovines back.
But Wednesday, the village’s mayor, Lucien Palix, admitted that the bulls had not heeded the call to their baser nature, probably because 45 of them had been castrated.
He added that the hopeful heifers would remain in place for another few nights for lack of another plan.
If the bulls continued to roam unchecked, the “ultimate solution” — culling the group — would have to be implemented, he said.