Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – The Saxony-Anhalt FDP is pushing for the wolf to be included in the hunting law. “The wolf has long been one of the native species in Saxony-Anhalt and like all other native animal species, we want to include it in the hunting law,” said Deputy State Chairman Marcus Faber on Friday. “We expect that Environment Minister Willingmann will now quickly submit a corresponding amendment to the law. If necessary, Parliament must act with its own initiative.”
The step is intended to bring equal treatment with other endangered species such as the lynx. “We expect this to bring concrete relief to everyday problems: hunters who come across an injured wolf first have to wait for a veterinarian to put them out of their torment. If they take action themselves, they face draconian penalties,” explained Faber. That is disproportionate. The predator should initially be given year-round protection status until appropriate guidelines for effective population management have been developed.
The CDU parliamentary group had also spoken out in favor of including wolves in hunting law. “With 11 wolves per 1000 square kilometers, more animals live in the cultural landscape of Saxony-Anhalt than in the Canadian natural landscape, in which an average of 5.6 wolves per 1000 square kilometers live. In view of this high wolf density, an overpopulation can already be seen in this country,” said Alexander Räuscher . “The particularly strict protection status is no longer justified.”
The coalition agreement between the CDU, SPD and FDP states that they want to check the protection status and are committed to determining the state of preservation and the care of the stocks. In November, however, Environment Minister Armin Willingmann (SPD) spoke out against inclusion in hunting law. “Including the wolf in the hunting law does not prevent losses in grazing animals.” No professional wolf management could be practiced with individual kills.
