After a court temporarily stopped the shooting of two wolves in the Rhön, Bavaria’s Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) is demanding clear rules from the federal government for such cases. To do this, the federal government must establish a so-called “favorable conservation status” of the wolf population in Germany with the EU, Aiwanger told the German Press Agency on Friday. “This legal cat-and-mouse game must finally be ended and a legally secure shooting permit must be created by the federal government.”
On Thursday, the Würzburg administrative court temporarily stopped the planned shooting of two wolves in the Rhön on the border with Hesse. The shooting was permitted by the government of Lower Franconia with an exception. This back and forth is “no longer acceptable” to animal owners, said Aiwanger. “The state must regain its ability to act on such issues.”
A wolf regulation has been in effect in Bavaria since the beginning of May, making it easier to shoot the animals. However, the wolf is still strictly protected under European and German law. In October, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) suggested that wolves should be shot down more quickly if they had killed grazing animals and overcome protective measures such as a fence. However, several associations and state governments criticized the initiative as not going far enough.
Aiwanger said on Friday that Lemke and Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) were “deliberately throwing sand in the eyes” of farmers by constantly claiming that the wolf could be hunted within the framework of existing laws.