More wolves being killed illegally in Germany, conservationists say

According to the German Society for Nature Conservation (NABU), more and more wolves are being killed illegally in Germany.

With the discovery of three shot animals at the end of September in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a peak has already been reached for the year 2021, the environmental protection association announced.

A total of 11 wolves were found this year that had been killed without legal permission. According to NABU, there were eight illegal killings in 2020, and nine in both 2019 and 2018. In addition, there is a presumably high number of unreported cases.

"Each of these killings is a criminal offence and must be prosecuted," said NABU head of department Ralf Schulte.

Conservationists see politicians as jointly responsible for shooting without a permit. They should focus on supporting livestock farmers in protecting their herds instead of discussing the hunting of wolves.

Since wolves returned to Germany in 2000, a total of 64 animals have been killed illegally, according to NABU. Hardly any of these cases have been solved. This is because the federal states lack specialized agencies for species protection crime.

Not only wolves are affected, but also lynxes are found killed again and again, as well as several birds of prey.

According to the latest data of the Documentation and Advisory Centre of the Federation on the Wolf for the monitoring year 2019-20, 128 packs, 39 wolf pairs and nine territorial individuals were detected in Germany.

In 2020, the office registered 942 attacks by wolves on livestock nationwide, most of them in the states of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg.

The amount of funding from the federal states for livestock protection measures was around 9.5 million euros last year, and the amount of compensation for damage was around 800,000 euros.

The German Hunting Association demands a change in the status of the wolf from "strictly protected" to "conditionally protected." This does not mean that every hunter is allowed to hunt wolves, however.