BUCHAREST: A day after thousands of shepherds protested in the capital, Romania's government has lifted a ban on sheep grazing in the winter months and regulations limiting the number of sheepdogs.

Government spokesman Dan Suciu said the government temporarily removed two articles from a law designed to protect hunters in an emergency ordinance Wednesday, and would find a permanent solution by April. Shepherds say the law is an attack on their rights and centuries of traditions.

The law limited shepherds to three dogs for flocks of sheep in the mountains, and a single dog on the plain. It also banned sheep grazing from December to April. Hunters say the dogs attack deer and wild boar that they hunt.

There are 10 million sheep in Romania.