/dpa | The federal government has established another prerequisite for shooting wolves. “The wolf has developed well in numerous parts of Germany and has once again become a fixed part of our native nature,” Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) stated. “At the same time, the states will now be able to solve local problems more easily.”
In a report to the EU, the wolf’s “conservation status” is classified as “favorable.” This had previously applied only in the biogeographical “Atlantic” region, which covers the northwestern part of Germany. It now also applies in the “Continental” region, which almost makes up the rest of the republic. There are no data yet for the Alpine region.
The classification of the conservation status is one of several criteria that are decisive for whether and to what extent hunting of the wolf may be permitted — because wolves are still a protected species. Farmers have for years been advocating culling in order to protect their sheep and cattle from the predator.
Criticism from environmentalists
Now it is written in black and white that “the wolf in Germany is no longer threatened with extinction,” emphasized Mark Helfrich, environmental policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. He announced that the wolf would soon be included in hunting law. The Environment Ministry also stated that the regulations in the Federal Hunting Act and the Federal Nature Conservation Act regarding the wolf would be adjusted. It stressed, however, that the favorable conservation status of the wolf must be maintained. Nevertheless, the new classification could give the states easier scope in dealing with wolves that, for instance, kill livestock.
Bavaria’s Minister of Agriculture Michaela Kaniber urged Federal Environment Minister Schneider to promptly determine that the Alpine population is also in a favorable conservation status: “The wolf does not respect borders — neither between states nor between populations. It cannot be that Bavaria becomes the nation’s wolf reserve because of bureaucratic definitions.”
The environmental organization WWF Germany, in contrast, criticized the current report to Brussels. “Once again Germany breaks with the principle that species and nature conservation should be based on data and follow scientific criteria,” said Sybille Klenzendorf, program director for wildlife in Europe. Despite an increased wolf population, the number of attacks and the number of harmed animals in 2024 compared with the previous year decreased. The focus must be on protecting herds across the board, for example through fences. In addition, wolves must be removed quickly and effectively when necessary.
The EU had in mid-year lowered the protection status of wolves in the Habitats Directive (FFH). It is now no longer listed among the “strictly protected” species, but only among the “protected” species. CDU/CSU and SPD had agreed in their coalition agreement to implement this change “without delay” into national law.
