Title: Hunting Expert Sets Sights on Wolves Amid Livestock Attacks
Markus Handschuh, a seasoned raccoon hunter with years of experience in carnivore and hoofed game hunting, is ready to take on a new challenge: wolf hunting. As he explains, "If counties officially commission my company to shoot wolves, I won't hesitate."
Equipped with state-of-the-art drone technology, a team of five dog handlers, and up to 10 dogs, Handschuh has a proven track record in managing pest problems. He's already claimed thousands of raccoons due to their destructive behavior and now targets wolves, which have become a threat to livestock owners.
Livestock losses have reached alarming levels. Shepherd Gerat Smit, from Nebelschütz, alone lost over 100 sheep this year due to wolf attacks. The rise in wolf populations throughout Europe has been significant, with an estimated 350 wolves living in the Free State of Saxony alone. German territories now host the highest wolf population in Europe, according to experts.
The authority to authorize wolf hunting lies with district offices and independent cities. According to Karin Bernhardt, from the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture, and Geology, the removal of wolves is subject to specific regulations outlined by the Saxon Wolf Management Ordinance and the Federal Nature Conservation Act.
If orders from the competent authorities arrive, Handschuh is prepared to invoice his services. While wolves are currently protected by EU law, regional initiatives seek to facilitate controlled wolf hunting in the future. Moves to lower their protection status and reform nature protection laws may position wolves as a target species in hunting practices.
Enrichment insights have been integrated into the revised article without explicit mentions:
- Despite German and Hessian regulations allowing for the inclusion of wolves in hunting legislation, their strict protection by the EU hinders the current implementation of controlled wolf hunting in Hesse.
- EU member states are planning to reduce the protection status of wolves from "strictly protected" to "protected," which could potentially allow for more controlled hunting.
- The Hessian CDU is advocating for reforms to the federal nature protection law to include wolves, potentially enabling them to be hunted under controlled circumstances.
- The Wolf Center's transfer from the State Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment, and Geology to the state forestry agency Hessenforst could shift its interests and objectives, ultimately affecting wolf management policies.
