By Kai Horstmann
Mario Woelk has been keeping a small herd of sika deer, an Asian species of deer, in Klein Ziethen (Barnim district) since 2007. Then on Saturday morning around 10 a.m. came the shock. The wolf was there and killed!
A neighbor gave the tip. Then his wife Michaela ran away worried. The pasture is exactly opposite her house, in the middle of the village. First, she was surprised to see eight sika deer running restlessly around the gate. But Michaela Woelk soon discovered the remaining 14 deer lying dead in the pasture, distance from the next house: less than 200 meters.
Their bodies were partly torn open, dismembered and covered in blood. Other sikas, however, were dead without the wolves feeding on them. “When I saw the dead animals, there were tears in my eyes,” says Michaela Woelk. “Even if they are slaughtered at some point, that affects me because the deer are also taken care of.”
A short time later, the alarmed crack expert arrived to assess the damage. Hunter Igor Spulsky also assessed the damage and confirmed that wolves had caused the damage. According to his knowledge, there are four older wolves and two young wolves in the Ziethen community area.
The bodies of the killed deer were partly torn open, dismembered and covered in blood
Photo: Kai Horstmann
Wolves were spotted just a few months ago, especially in the gravel pit just before the Joachimsthal motorway entrance. Wolves were also spotted in the landscape area between Groß and Klein Ziethen. Thomas Frey, spokesman for the State Office for the Environment in Brandenburg, wrote in response to BZ’s request: “A wolf/wolves are likely to be the cause.” However, a clear assignment is only possible after the genetic sample has been evaluated.
In Groß Ziethen, three sheep are said to have been killed on Saturday night. Mario Woelk is stunned: Why isn’t anyone doing anything, he asks. For him, the discussions about shooting the wolves are taking far too long.
He believes that if opponents of wolf shooting would see the horror in the pasture, they would also change their minds. “There are simply too many wolves in this area,” believes Mario Woelk. “Hunters must be allowed to reduce the number of wolves.”
The Woelks may now also lose the right to compensation. According to the crack expert, the protective fence for their sika deer is 2.10 meters high, but it lacks the undermining protection, which has to run half a meter underground. It doesn’t matter that the wolves only entered the pasture over the fence, as the Woelks discovered through wolf hair on the wire fence.
“For me, that means that in addition to the loss of the animals, I also have to bear the disposal costs,” says Mario Woelk, “because the animals may not be used in any way.”