Environment Minister: population regulation of wolves essential

Saxony's Environment Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch (CDU) sees an urgent need for action on the subject of wolves and considers population management to be essential. "It's no longer about shooting individual wolves that are behaving problematically. It's about regulating the population," he told the German Press Agency. Saxony supports a corresponding initiative by Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Among other things, the initiative calls on the federal government to advocate a prompt change in the legal status of wolves at European level.

Minister: We urgently need to take action

Von Breitenbuch welcomes Friday's decision to launch this initiative. "We urgently need to take action nationwide. With the new coalition agreement in Berlin and today's decision in the Bundesrat, we are showing one thing: the federal and state governments are in agreement on this issue. This makes me confident that we can quickly tackle the necessary legal changes."

The Saxon coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD states: "There are now so many wolves living in Saxony that population management is necessary to limit the number of wolves. We are creating the necessary legal conditions for this. We are committed to lowering the protection status." A specific number for regulation is not mentioned. According to Breitenbuchs, "legally secure and pragmatic procedures for the removal of wolves" are crucial instead.

Saxony currently has 37 wolf packs

There are currently 37 wolf packs living in Saxony. There are also six pairs of wolves. Saxony has the largest population after Brandenburg and Lower Saxony. According to the Wolf Unit at the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology, 877 farm animals fell victim to wolves in the state last year. 637 were killed, 135 injured and 105 are considered missing. A total of 281 cases of damage were reported to the authorities, in 227 cases the wolf is considered to be the cause with sufficient certainty. In the first three months of this year, there were at least 29 cases of damage, 112 animals died.

Courts revoke shooting permits

"At the moment, the protection status is still so high that courts are revoking shooting permits, even if they are supported by specialist authorities," clarified von Breitenbuch. In the most recent case in Saxony, however, it was not Saxon nature conservation associations that took legal action, but one from Lower Saxony. This also damages the public's understanding of species conservation. Saxony is a densely populated area. The interests of grazing livestock farmers and the population as a whole must be kept in mind and not always decided unilaterally in favor of wolves.

Von Breitenbuch also wants to address the issue of dealing with wolves at the conference of environment ministers in May. This will touch on a fundamental issue of environmental policy as a whole. "If people only look at a one-sided environmental policy with contempt, the pendulum has swung too far and we need to find a sensible middle ground again. I see that as my task. We need acceptance and trust again. People must not have the impression that they are at the mercy of an environmental policy."