By Michael Sauerbier
End of the closed season for dangerous wolves! After much hesitation, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is now clearing the way for a quick launch. That’s not enough for farmers and hunters.
Bitten throats, torn stomachs, bloody carcasses: around 4,000 grazing animals are killed by wolves every year, one in four in Brandenburg. Ascending trend. Farmers and shepherds have been calling for wolf hunting for years. But the predator is strictly protected throughout Europe.
Now the Green Environment Minister is giving in to pressure from the wolf victims. “Where wolves kill sheep, we have to shoot these wolves because they have learned that you can make easy prey there,” said Lemke on Thursday in Berlin.
Until now, shootings were only possible using a complicated procedure, in Brandenburg only twice last year.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke wants to make it easier to shoot wolves
Lemke’s plan: The federal states should define regions with increased numbers of wolf kills. If a wolf has overcome protective measures such as a fence and killed a grazing animal, it should be allowed to be shot at for 21 days – within a radius of 1,000 meters from the pasture. With a quick exception approval. The risk of further attacks is particularly high within the three-week period.
If a crack expert determines a wolf attack despite a protective fence or herd dogs, the wolf should be released for shooting within a few days. Without the previously necessary genetic comparison. A DNA sample must first be taken from the predator that has been killed to determine whether the right wolf was hit. If not, the hunt should continue.
For the farmers’ association, Lemke’s suggestions are “completely inadequate”. Together with hunters and sheep breeding associations, he is calling for fixed shooting quotas for wolves, which should be adjusted annually to the growing predator population. And “wolf-free zones”.
CDU expert Albert Stegemann: “Minister Lemke continues to shirk her responsibility.” She should create the conditions so that wolves can be hunted, before wolf cracks occur.
Brandenburg’s Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) and the nature conservation associations welcomed Lemke’s plan. They reject shooting quotas without a specific reason.
NABU President Jörg-Andreas Krüger: “The vast majority of wolves respect herd protection measures.” Lemke’s suggestions make sense for the “few cases” in which grazing animals are still killed.
The environment ministers’ conference is scheduled to decide on Lemke’s plans in November. Then it becomes uncomfortable for dangerous wolves!