Things are getting serious for the rapidly increasing wolf population in Brandenburg: The government coalition made up of the SPD, CDU and the Greens proposes to the state parliament that the hunt for this strictly protected species of predator should be made easier. According to the application, the shooting of wolves should be possible in the future, even if “the damage caused by livestock tears cannot be assigned to a specific wolf in a pack”. The prerequisite is that the grazing cattle were secured by reasonable herd protection measures and that the permitted shooting of “individual members of a wolf pack” is “closely related to cracks that have already occurred”.
So far it has been extremely difficult to get permission to shoot wolves. The animal owner had to prove that a very specific wolf had overcome all protective measures several times – and a shooting permit was only intended for this one animal. Attempts to capture this wolf alive must have previously failed. CDU parliamentary group leader Jan Redmann said it was becoming more and more difficult to keep the wolves at a distance “when they notice that they have nothing to fear”. Encouraged in this way, they would not only attack sheep, but now also use a pack tactic on calves.
“It’s not about an area-wide launch,” Redmann explained. But the wolf must be oriented so that it feeds in the wild and naturally. At present, the predators are approaching herds that they can easily eat because the cattle cannot escape from them on the fenced pasture. It becomes problematic when the wolf loses its natural fear of people and settlements, said Redmann. He referred to proven pairings of dogs and wolves in Thuringia. “That can be dangerous for humans. We have to prevent that. “
For the Greens, parliamentary group leader Benjamin Raschke assured that his party saw this project “quite relaxed”. With this step, Brandenburg is classified in the development at the federal level. The greens are definitely in favor of good conditions for species-appropriate grazing. In the past, damage from wolves was not suffered by those farmers who have factory-kept livestock in stalls, but often organic farmers with free-range husbandry. The species-appropriate grazing animal husbandry is in a “tension” to the appearance of the wolf, so Benjamin Raschke, but the desired improvement of the wolf management is a good solution.
“The new regulation will, if at all, only lead to the shooting of wolves in exceptional cases,” said MP Thomas Domres (left). It is window dressing if you think you can resolve conflicts by hunting. “That wouldn’t even work with much higher numbers of kills.”
The return of the wolf to Brandenburg has been traceable since 2010. After being exterminated here for a long time, it immigrated again from Poland and spread. There are 128 wolf packs and 35 pairs throughout Germany. Brandenburg is considered the state with the highest population. Last year 47 wolf packs and ten wolf pairs stayed here. From the beginning of January to the end of September they tore a total of 395 sheep, ten goats, 80 cattle and two horses. The state financially supports wolf-proof fences and the purchase of guard dogs. It also pays compensation if none of that helped.
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