The four hooves flanked in the dense pine forest of the massif, they chew everything that is there. For the past few weeks, Jean Bergé’s cleaning goats have been employed in clearing brush on the Saint-Martin hill, which dominates the small village of Roquefort-des-Corbières, in Aude. A way to reconnect with its pastoral history. The goat herds and the vines have disappeared for thirty years, giving way to the “invader”: the garrigue, as far as the eye can see. “We are surroundedsighs the mayor, Luc Castan, behind the initiative. We’re heading for disaster, it’s a real powder keg here. »
This morning of July 22, it is 41 degrees, the heat is overwhelming. “At the slightest start of fire, we can say goodbye to all that”, worries this retired winegrower, son of a goatherd. He points to the cluster of small dry-stone houses below, where eight centuries of shepherds’ memories nestle. The village has not received a single drop of rain for months. And the proliferation of highly combustible thyme and rosemary bushes doesn’t help. “Last year, we saw the pine forests go up in smoke in the north and south. In the middle, it’s just us. »
centuries of use
As in Gironde or Brittany, Occitania has not been spared by the fires over the past two weeks. On July 8, 10 hectares of scrubland were reduced to ashes 5 kilometers from Roquefort. One hour from the Aude village, in the neighboring Hérault, the fire consumed nearly 1,000 hectares on Tuesday July 26. All the mayor’s hopes rest on the frail shoulders of the 90 cattle. These Rove goats have been used by Mediterranean farmers for centuries to maintain arid and fire-prone areas. Thanks to their small size and their agility, they reach summits and slopes where a human cannot venture.
“So few goats in such a space, it is useless at all. This is not the magic bullet against fires. » National Forestry Office
“Come on, come on girls, let’s go, exclaims Jean Bergé for his animals. Malice, Blueberry, come on! » It is past 11 o’clock, the goats must return to the top of the hill to rest until early afternoon. In one month, the work of the herd is already impressive. The shrubs were completely stripped of their leaves. “The grass is cut close, as after the passage of a mower”welcomes the breeder.
An experiment that will have to prove itself
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