More and more wolves are settling down in Hesse. This fuels the debate about wild animals. While farmers and sheep farmers are demanding an upper limit, conservationists are calling for better herd protection.
Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – The number of wolves in Hesse is growing steadily. “Due to the fact that a large part of the areas in northern and eastern Germany are already occupied by wolf territories, the migrating young wolves are increasingly orienting themselves in the direction of the federal states, such as Hesse, where free habitats are still available,” explains Annika Ploenes from the Wolf Center by the Hessian State Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) in Wiesbaden on dpa request.
Last year, 20 sedentary animals were genetically detected. This means that residues of them, such as traces of saliva, were found on dead animals. In 2021 there were 13 animals, in 2020 and 2019 eight each. In 2018, the HLNUG did not register a single wolf record in the whole of Hesse.
According to Ploenes, there were four wolf territories in the state in the observation period from May 2021 to April 2022: a pack in Rüdesheim, a solitary she-wolf in the Stölzing Mountains and a pair each in Ludwigsau and Wildflecken across the state to Bavaria. A wolf is officially considered territorial when it has been genetically recorded at least twice in a given area, six months apart. “Wolves can be expected to pass through Hesse at any time,” says Ploenes.
In the current monitoring year from May 2022 to April 2023, offspring have been detected in the wolf areas of Rüdesheim, Wildflecken and in the area of ??the Stölzing Mountains. “The pair in Ludwigsau and the single wolf in the Stölzing Mountains have not yet been genetically confirmed in the current observation period.” A territory expires if the animals can no longer be detected in a monitoring year. “Since November 2022, there has also been a single wolf in the Hochtaunus and Wetterau districts,” explains Ploenes. A new territory around Waldkappel in the Werra-Meißner district with a pack was also recently found.
According to HLNUG, 20 livestock were killed by wolves in Hesse in 2022. It has been proven that they killed seven sheep this year. The Hessian grazers worry about the spread of predators. “In order to protect our grazing animals from wolf attacks, the wolf must be shown clear limits so that it learns to stay away from the pastures,” demands the Vice President of the Hessian Farmers’ Association (HBV), Volker Lein. Preventive protective measures are often not enough. The association wants to set an upper limit for the number of wolves.
A wolf-proof fence is no longer an obstacle for many wolves, explains Lein. Wolves are highly intelligent hunters who quickly learned to use their freedom mercilessly. Contrary to what nature conservation organizations claim, wolves are not naturally shy. “Without active training of the wolf, there will soon be no more grazing animals in Hesse,” says Lein.
The HBV calls for a better and more transparent clarification of suspected cases of wolves. “The way the reports on the cracks are currently being prepared is absolutely unsatisfactory. In addition, there are still too few crack experts in the districts,” explains Lein. As a result, cracks are often examined far too late to be able to secure a wolf’s DNA at all. The actual wolf population must be recorded in a comprehensible and realistic manner. “We cannot continue to put the protection of the wolf above the protection of our grazing animals.”
The State Hunting Association of Hesse advocates including the wolf in the hunting law and actively managing the population. Hunters are predestined to take the wolf, explains press spokesman Markus Stifter. They are represented nationwide, have the necessary local knowledge and the appropriate training and equipment.
“We are aware that the return of the wolf causes some people to reject it,” says Thomas Norgall, nature conservation officer at the Hessian Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND Hessen). The aim must be the good coexistence of humans and wolves. “Fear of being attacked while walking in the woods is unfounded,” says Norgall. Experts agree that wolves pose no danger to humans.
For grazing livestock farmers, livestock losses are a high emotional burden and, in the case of sheep and goat farming, often a great economic burden. “The BUND is therefore calling for greater financial support for sheep and goat farming and for the public sector to bear all of the herd protection costs.”
The solution to the conflict lies in herd protection. “Anyone who consistently protects their animals with herd protection measures prevents attacks by wolves and – more importantly – prevents wolves from getting to know grazing animals as easy prey.” The often demanded hunt for wolves, on the other hand, will exacerbate the conflicts. “Most wolves don’t kill livestock, but as a strictly territorial species, they drive any other wolf out of their territory. So sedentary wolves that don’t attack grazing animals are effective herd protection.”
If, on the other hand, an upper limit for the number of wolves were set and all wolves up to this limit could then be shot across the board, then wolves that do not kill any livestock would also be shot regularly. “If they are shot, on the other hand, wolves can migrate and attack grazing animals. Nobody wants that.”