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The wolf is causing more and more damage – now the EU is closing in on him
Watch the video: “Unusual behavior” – Camera in Saxony films wolf in front yard.
Video source: n-tv.de
Is the protection status of wolves changing? After wolves killed or injured more than 4,000 animals in Germany and other countries in 2022, the EU is discussing a possible easier way to shoot wolves.
In view of the increasing spread of wolves, EU authorities, federal and state governments are discussing new rules for dealing with the predators. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned of a “real danger to farm animals and potentially also to humans” and announced that the special protection status of the wolf in the EU would be reviewed. The European Parliament will discuss the wolves on Wednesday.
How many wolves live in Germany?
According to the Federal Documentation and Advisory Center for Wolves (DBBW), a total of 162 packs, 47 pairs and 21 individuals lived in Germany in the 2021/2022 wolf year. According to Nabu, a wolf pack consists of eight animals on average, which means there are four-digit numbers of wolves. Reproducing wolves have existed in Germany since 2000, and their number has increased steadily in recent years.
A particularly large number of wolf packs have settled in the north and east of Germany. According to DBBW information, most of them live in Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
What damage do they cause?
Last year, the DBBW counted 1,136 wolf attacks on farm animals. More than 4,000 animals were injured, killed or subsequently went missing, most of them sheep and goats. They are small and easy for wolves to prey on if they are given little or no protection.
Affected grazing livestock farmers received compensation payments for their damage totaling more than 600,000 euros in 2022. In order to be entitled to compensation, farmers must ensure a minimum level of protection for their animals, for example with livestock guard dogs and electric fences. The federal and state governments supported such protective measures last year with a total of more than 18 million euros.
Predators
Here you will find interesting facts about wolves – and tips on how to behave if you ever meet one
What laws protect wolves?
According to the EU’s nature conservation directive – the so-called Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive (FFH) – from 1992, wolves enjoy special protection as a native species in Europe. According to Annex IV of the directive, Germany is obliged to guarantee a viable population of wolves in the long term.
In Germany, the Federal Nature Conservation Act regulates the handling of so-called “strictly protected species”. As a rule, they must not be killed and their habitats must not be damaged or destroyed. In addition to the wolf, there are 137 other species on the list.
When can a wolf still be killed?
Individual wolves or entire packs may be shot if they behave suspiciously towards people. This also applies to wolves, which repeatedly attack farm animals. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the path to this has so far been too bureaucratic.
Responsibility for wolf management lies with the federal states. Their authorities decide on a case-by-case basis whether an animal can be killed. They can work with local hunters.
What could change now?
EU Commission President von der Leyen held out the prospect of changing the status of wolf protection in the EU if necessary. If the wolf’s protection status were downgraded, it would be much easier to shoot it. The commission wants to collect current data on wolf populations and possible threats by the end of September. Von der Leyen called on local and national authorities to “take action wherever necessary.”
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) has announced that the shooting of wolves will be simplified in certain cases. “My goal is clear: shooting wolves after cracks must be possible faster and less bureaucratically,” she tells “Welt”. Lemke wants to present concrete proposals for dealing with wolves in Germany by the end of September.