- Federal government wants to speed up the fight against wolves
After years of debate about the threats wolves pose to alpine and grazing livestock, a blame game is brewing between the federal government and Bavaria: Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) wants to allow quick wolf culls, but the Munich state government is demanding a more significant concession from the federal government.
Bavaria to the federal government: "Favorable conservation status" needs to be established
Currently, the official government statement that the wolf is in a "favorable conservation status" in Germany - a prerequisite that could potentially simplify the bureaucratic process of wolf culls, according to Bavarian views - is pending.
At this year's main alpine inspection in Oberammergau on Wednesday, Lemke for the federal government, and Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) and Economic Affairs Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) for the state government, called for mutual concessions from each other.
Federal government to Bavaria: It's up to you
Lemke emphasized that she wanted to help alpine farmers who fear for their livelihood due to the return of the wolves. The Federal Environment Ministry has therefore initiated a "quick cull regulation". "I urge the federal states to use this quick cull regulation," said the Federal Environment Minister. "You can do it, you just have to do it." She could report the "good conservation status" of the wolf to Brussels tomorrow. "I need Bavaria's consent for that. That's the consent that has been missing for several months."
Mutual concession called for
Economic Affairs Minister Aiwanger responded at the event that, to his knowledge, not a single wolf had been shot in Germany based on this regulation so far. The reason for Bavaria's previous refusal to consent to the declaration of a good conservation status is that, according to Bavarian statements, this should only apply to some federal states and not to the whole of Germany, including Bavaria.
"Make a concession," Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) demanded of Lemke. "We finally need a way to carry out population management, because the number of wolves in Germany and Europe is increasing rapidly." Kaniber cited figures from the German Hunting Association, according to which the number of wolves in Germany is growing by 40 percent annually.
Bavaria believes that establishing a "favorable conservation status" for wolves is necessary to ease the process for wolf culls in Germany, as per their government's stance.In light of the increasing wolf population in Germany, Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber calls for a concession from the federal government to facilitate population management.
