Sheep and goat farmers in the Northeast are suffering severely from wolf attacks, while the number of predators has continued to rise. Those affected are now demanding really effective countermeasures.
Rostock/Schwerin (dpa/mv) – The sheep and goat farmers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are calling for more effective countermeasures in view of the further spread of wolves. According to a statement by the State Sheep and Goat Breeding Association on Monday, wolves that attack livestock several times should also be killed. EU law offers this possibility, but it has not yet been enforced in the north-east.
According to statistics from the State Ministry of Agriculture, 343 sheep, calves and other farm animals had been killed or seriously injured by the predators by the end of September, despite protective measures such as electric fences. This is the second highest value of a year in the Northeast so far.
According to the Schwerin Ministry, 18 wolf packs live in the northeast, three more than a year ago. The number of pairs of wolves has increased from two to six, and that of sedentary wolves from three to four. The question arises as to how sheep and goat farmers can effectively protect their animals from wolf attacks, said the chair of the state association, Susanne Petersen. Even powerful companies are burdened beyond their limits in terms of work management and emotionally. Grazed grassland must be viewed as a unique and irreplaceable ecosystem with immense biodiversity. This habitat cannot be maintained without grazing animals.
In this respect, it is negligent to sacrifice this habitat for the unrestricted reproduction of a single species – the wolf. Because of the still strict wolf protection rules, real coexistence is not possible. As a special feature, 2 wolves were registered in 2022, to which alone 15 of the almost 70 attacks can be traced back.
It could be proven that the animal with the designation GW 1532 was responsible for eight incidents in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, the wolf had already been noticed several times in 2021. The Wolf GW 2574 has been proven to be responsible for seven incidents in the districts of Ludwigslust-Parchim and Rostock. It hit 29 sheep twice at once. For both animals there were requests for “removal”, as the ministry said. However, it was not shot because the wolves could no longer be tracked down after their last livestock attacks.