By Selena Hill (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: May 07, 2013 09:30 AM EDT

A French woman was eaten by vultures less than one hour after falling off a cliff in France. It only took vultures 45 to 50 minutes to devour the 52-year-old woman's lifeless body, before rescue workers were able to reach her.

The woman was on a hiking trip with two friends in the French Pyrenees on April 14 when she fell off a cliff and plunged more than 980 feet to her death, according to France's TF1.

"There were only bones, clothes and shoes left on the ground," Major Didier Pericou told The Times of London. "They took 45 to 50 minutes to eat the body. When we first went out in the helicopter looking for the body, we saw numerous vultures without realizing what they were doing," he said.

According the The Times, the incident may spark debate from farmers in the area who want permission to shoot the griffon vultures which is a protected species. They argue that the ban has resulted in an increase in the population from the scavenger birds and, as a result, their livestock is being threatened. The birds have been deprived of animal carcasses due to a European law that requires farmers to burn the bodies of dead animals.

About 42 claims have been made to local authorities for compensation for animals lost to vultures, Metro reports. Farmer Alain Larraide has even claimed he has seen vultures carry off live animals, stating "You can't imagine what it is like to see an animal eaten alive."

Between 2006 and 2010 there were 1,165 reports of the birds of prey killing domestic livestock in regions of southern France and Spain, according to a 2011 report published in the science journal Nature.

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