Joe, ROFL! laugh I had to go 'online dictionary' to define a 'pack-rat'! The locals don't need steroids, what with humping haybales/wrastling cows and hauling logs all the daylight hours. The bloaters [ the police, a bloater is a smoked herring- they sit in their squad cars smoking Gauloises all day! ] reckon the culprits were brits, but I just can't visualise a bunch of geriatric pensioners out on a caper!
Old Georges, mon ami, is more sage. 'Addicts out of Rennes city' he says. 'Too hard stealing in town, with alarms and better locks etc. Rural areas,easy pickings.'
Someone is stealing Georges' ducks, eggs and goslings. This is serious! I gotta have my goose at Xmas! The 16 gage shotgun is primed & ready for the night he catches the culprits in the act. He says 'I'm allowed to shoot them in the legs.' Too drastic for me, best get a good dog! Nothing like a nasty little Jack Russell terrier clamped on your blinking nethers to put you off thieving and steam up your bins!

Wood work but can't!