Conference of Environment Ministers - Minister Meyer wants simple rules for wolf shooting
Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Christian Meyer is striving for uniform nationwide rules for the killing of wolves with behavioral problems. "Lower Saxony wants a practical, quick and unbureaucratic solution in view of increasing livestock depredations and the threat to livestock grazing," said the Green politician on Thursday at the two-day conference of environment ministers in Münster.
A proposal by Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) for faster culling of individual wolves in Germany was to be discussed there. This provides for the federal states to define regions with an increased number of wolf killings. If a wolf has overcome protective measures such as a fence and killed a grazing animal, it should be allowed to be shot for 21 days by special permit - within a radius of 1000 meters around the pasture. Unlike in the past, it will not be necessary to wait for a DNA analysis.
Meyer told the "Nordwest-Zeitung" newspaper: "We hope to have a simple, unbureaucratic procedure for livestock grazing in order to be able to remove problem wolves more quickly in certain regions." However, Meyer warned against the states trying to outdo each other in relaxing the rules. A "uniform guideline" should therefore be adopted at the conference of environment ministers. "We will be able to make a different regulation for certain topographical locations. These include dykes on the coast or along rivers. Because herd protection is clearly more difficult there."
The CDU in the Lower Saxony state parliament criticized Meyer's stance. "Lower Saxony and Brandenburg are home to by far the most wolves in Germany, so I expect the environment minister of Lower Saxony to make a clear statement on how we want to tackle the problem and not hide behind the federal government or the EU," said Marco Mohrmann, agricultural policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group. There is already room for maneuver, but Meyer refuses to take responsibility.
Wolves are strictly protected under EU law and may only be released for shooting in well-founded exceptional cases - namely if they have lost their fear of humans or have repeatedly crossed wolf-repellent fences to feed on sheep, cattle or ponies in meadows. It is not so easy to erect wolf-repellent fences on coastal dykes or along rivers.
For many graziers, the Federal Environment Minister's plans do not go far enough. The German Sheep Farming Association is calling on federal politicians to set a population limit. All surplus wolves should be removed, said chairman Wendelin Schmücker. The increasing number of wolves has dramatic consequences for grazing animals and their owners, who fear for their livelihoods.
Meyer is against an upper limit for wolves and emphasizes the importance of herd protection: "The consistent implementation of suitable area-wide herd protection measures remains crucial in order to minimize conflicts with grazing livestock farming."
Holger Buschmann, Chairman of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (Nabu) of Lower Saxony, also emphasized that herd protection must be at the forefront of the discussion. This is "respected" by the vast majority of wolves. In the few cases in which grazing animals are killed despite herd protection, Nabu agrees to the shooting of wolves. The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union also supports the new proposals of the Federal Environment Minister for simplified shooting, but no blanket hunting of wolves.
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Source: www.stern.de
