Sheep farmers demand clear legal guidelines for wolf hunting.

Nature and Ecosystems: An Analysis - Sheep farmers demand clear legal guidelines for wolf hunting.

At the beginning of the Environmental Ministers' Conference in Bad Dürkheim, shepherds pushed for legally certain circumstances that would allow them to shoot wolves in certain scenarios. Moreover, they called for a unified active wolf management across state lines, the Association for the Advancement of German Sheep Farming announced on a Wednesday.

Most likely, they were referring to a ruling made by the Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court in Lüneburg. In April, it decided that shooting a wolf in the Hannover area was forbidden, and overturned complaints lodged by the State Office for Water Management, Coastal Protection, and Nature Conservation against a decision made by the Administrative Court in Oldenburg. Marking the end of the exception permit for swiftly killing the predator, the OVG had previously shared this information.

In the region where this happened, cattle had been slain by wolves numerous times. This led to the first application of the rapid procedure for shooting down a wolf by the state of Lower Saxony. In this rapid procedure, a DNA test to pinpoint a specific animal is no longer required. Instead, a wolf could be shot within a 1000-meter radius of a slaughtered farm animal within a 21-day window.

The quick shooting regulations for regions with expanding wolf populations were reconciled unanimously by the Environmental Ministers' Conference (UMK) on December 1, 2023. The issue has now resurfaced at the UMK gathering in Bad Dürkheim, which goes on from Wednesday to Friday.

Contrary to this, Rhineland-Palatinate saw no alterations in spite of the UMK decision from late 2023. Environment Minister Katrin Eder (Greens) mentioned that the decision would be integrated into the revision of the country's nationwide practice guide. Additionally, a consultation will be conducted with other federal states with similar conditions, as well as with neighboring countries Belgium and Luxembourg.

Read also:

1. Despite the decision made at the Conference of Environment Ministers in Bad Dürkheim, agriculture in Rhineland-Palatinate continues to operate without changes in wolf management policies.
2. The dispute over wolf shooting in Hanover, Germany, led to a ruling by the Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court in Lüneburg, banning the practice within the region.
3. The association representing German sheep farmers emphasized the need for clear guidelines and a unified approach to wolf management across Germany in light of the wolf-related incidents in Lower Saxony.
4. Animals such as cattle suffered from wolf attacks in the region, prompting the state of Lower Saxony to apply the rapid procedure for swiftly killing the predator.
5. Nature conservationists from various German states, including Hanover and Lower Saxony, attended the Conference of Environment Ministers to discuss wolf shooting guidelines and management strategies.
6. Shooting wolves without a DNA test within a specific radius of slaughtered farm animals became legal in areas with expanding wolf populations, as a result of the UMK decision in December 2023.

• Tough return to normality in snow and ice
• German national soccer team on their way to participate in the European Championship qualifying matches.
• The flooding has lessened, but the aftermath of mud remains.
• Fewer unauthorized entries: Domino effect through controls