Killing individual “problem animals” is not enough
Too many wolves in Lower Saxony: grazers want to shoot whole packs
“We not only have to be able to remove individual problem wolves, but also entire packs,” says the German Farmers’ Association
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The debate about the killing of wolves is entering the next round: the German Farmers’ Association wants to be able to remove entire packs. Lower Saxony associations support this demand.
No longer talking, but acting – that’s what Jochen Rehse demands. The hurdles for killing problematic wolves are too high for the chairman of the Weidetierhalter Deutschland in Lower Saxony. “If necessary, an entire problematic pack must be allowed to be removed,” he says. “The livestock farmers have their backs against the wall economically.”
The State Farmers’ Association holds a similar opinion: According to Lower Saxony’s rural people’s vice-president, Jörn Ehlers, the number of wolves in Lower Saxony endangers the grazing animal husbandry that is so important for the natural cycle and the landscape. “We urgently need this form of regulation,” says Ehlers.
“We not only have to be able to easily remove individual problem wolves, but also whole packs”
Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens), on the other hand, emphasizes that it is already possible to kill so-called problem wolves, which “are responsible for increased damage to protected animals”. But killing any animal is like hunting, says Meyer. He points out that the wolf in Germany continues to be strictly protected under EU and federal law. “Removing entire packs without a legal basis is therefore not possible in the federal states and would not be expedient.” By “remove” here is meant “kill”.
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The German Farmers’ Association had fueled the discussion on the subject at a press conference on Wednesday. “We not only have to be able to remove individual problem wolves, but also entire packs,” says Bernhard Krüsken, Secretary General of the association. According to him, more than 4,000 livestock have been killed in recent years. A coexistence between wolves and grazing animals – with a number of 2000 to 2500 wolves in Germany – can no longer be guaranteed solely with herd protection measures. The press conference took place as part of the premiere of the Federal Environment Ministry’s dialogue series “Pasture husbandry and wolves”.
Sources: NDR, daily News
Watch the video: In Saxony, people worry about wolves. The reason: A she-wolf came unusually close to residential buildings in Liebschützberg. The predator has taken or destroyed things several times.