Tyrol wants even more wolf hunting

Austria's Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) believes that the EU is on course after a long struggle. "It's not just about mountain farmers whose sheep are being killed." The wolf has also recently made its way into residential areas and playgrounds. "Now the focus is finally back on people's reality," Totschnig told the German Press Agency.

For two years now, various federal states in Austria have been going out on a limb legally by issuing shooting permits. In spring, the EU then decided to reduce the protection status of the wolf from "strictly protected" to "protected", in line with the Alpine republic.

Damage caused by wolves recently on the decline

According to the Bear, Lynx, Wolf Conservation Center, around 100 wolves roam Austria. Most of them are in Carinthia and Tyrol, but Salzburg and Vorarlberg are also affected, says Albin Blaschka from the protection center. Ten years ago, only eight animals were recorded.

Recently, however, the number of wolves has not increased. The damage caused by the predators has decreased significantly. In 2022, around 2,000 sheep, goats and cattle were reported killed, injured or missing in Austria. Last year, around 900 farm animals fell victim to the wolf, it said.

According to the conservation center, it is not yet possible to say which of the measures will work. In addition to hunting pressure - according to statistics, around 35 wolves have been shot in Austria since 2023 - the more cautious behavior of farmers, who protect their animals better or remove them from the pasture more quickly in case of danger, probably also plays a role, says Blaschka. "In any case, a lot has happened."

German minister: wolf is no longer an endangered species

In Austria, there is great pressure from farmers and the tourism industry to do something about wolves. Alpine farming with cows, sheep and goats is economically important and also has a high touristic value.

Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer (CSU) estimates that there are around 2,500 wolves in Germany. In terms of area, this is more wolves than in Russia. "So for me, the wolf population in Germany is definitely not endangered," he said recently.

For hunters in Austria, a shooting permit often means immediate action. "Otherwise the wolf is over the hill," says Tyrol's state hunting champion Anton Larcher. It is easier to shoot a wolf that is at least temporarily loyal to the area - i.e. a specimen that has killed livestock - than a problem wolf, i.e. an animal that has lost its fear of humans.

Hunters: wolf overestimated as an important link in the natural cycle

"The probability that this is the animal we are looking for is very high," says Larcher. Most wolves in Austria are loners and do not live in one of the current nine packs.

Animal protection organizations such as the WWF see the wolf as a natural health police force that mainly preys on sick and weak hoofed game. However, Larcher believes that the importance of the predator as a regulating element in the cycle of nature is clearly overestimated. In Tyrol alone, tens of thousands of roe deer, chamois and stags are shot every year, while the wolf plays no role at all in controlling ungulate populations. "It is absolutely unsuitable as a regulator," says Larcher.