Image: HANS KLAUS TECHT (APA)
A look at the livestock statistics for 2022 shows that Carinthia and Tyrol, each with just over 400 animals killed, had by far the highest numbers; two sheep were listed in Upper Austria and 15 in Lower Austria.
If you compare the tears of the previous year throughout Austria with those of 2021, you can see a significant increase in the dead animals that are attributed to wolves, these are mainly sheep and goats, because 782 of these animals were killed in the previous year, 498 It was still animals in 2021 that were killed according to the compilation of the Austria Center “Bear, Wolf, Lynx”. Goats are in the minority as they are rarely kept.
Losses have tripled
If one takes the total of livestock losses not only in terms of killed animals, but also in terms of injured or lost animals, supplemented by a few cases of cattle, horses, wild game, mainly due to wolves, an even more extreme picture emerges, because this is where the jump starts from 672 in 2021 to 1,780 in the previous year. Here, too, Tyrol and Carinthia are at the top, with a total of 980 and 879 animals respectively.
In Upper Austria the need for a new draft, which will be examined at the end of April, was justified by a wolf because of the killing of nine sheep in Gramastetten (Urfahr district) at the beginning of the month. Four packs are currently likely to live in the north-eastern border area, 25 wolves are all likely to be in Upper Austria. This year, 14 wild animal reports have already been received, three of which have been proven to be open wolves are due. There were twelve reports of farm animals, nine of which were proven wolf tears, according to Provincial Councilor Michaela Langer-Weninger (ÖVP).
In Tyrol In the face of numerous sheep killings, the wolf has meanwhile become a permanent topic and excites the peasantry in particular, but also other areas of society. Most recently, the black-red state government, which has been in office since autumn 2022, clearly tightened the screws. In February, an amendment to the hunting law was passed with a broad majority in the state parliament, with the exception of the Greens. “Risk or harmful animal” can thus be released for shooting.
In the country Carinthia, which is affected in a similar way to Tyrol, has had its own ordinance since January 2022, which makes it easier to shoot wolves. Specifically, a distinction is made between harmful wolves (which have been shown to kill several livestock) and high-risk wolves (which venture into populated areas several times). This ordinance was tightened again three months ago: Among other things, the total number of killed farm animals above which a wolf is considered a harmful wolf was reduced.
In the Styria On the other hand, if the situation is completely different than in Carinthia or Tyrol, it said there with reference to an evaluation from the office of Environment Councilor Ursula Lackner (SPÖ), because in 2021 ten animals were torn by the wolf, in 2022 only two. “At the moment we therefore see no need for action – but we are following the situation closely in order to be able to take further steps if necessary,” said the statement to the APA.
There are also plans for changes regarding the wolf in Vorarlberg. One is currently considering what it takes to be able to react more quickly in the event of a “problem wolf”, “that is currently being worked on”, says Hubert Schatz, state wildlife ecologist and head of the coordination group for large carnivores. Among other things, the coordination group determines which preventive measures are to be implemented and how to proceed in the event of wolf sightings or killings.
In Salzburg For a long time it was not possible to reach a political agreement on how to deal with problem wolves. In 2020, the state initially tried to authorize a first shooting by decision, but the state administrative court canceled it months later after objections from nature conservation organizations – among other things because milder means had not been tried. The suspicious animal had long since moved on by this point. The state is therefore using the possibility in the hunting law to determine so-called action areas. This means that there is always the legal possibility of approving the shooting of wolves in certain areas by ordinance in specific cases, despite the strict conservation and protection regulations, explained the state’s wolf commissioner, Hubert Stock.
Bear is said to have plundered the beehive
The occurrence of bears in Austria, on the other hand, is not such a problem, as is also shown by the figures from 2022: In Carinthia, a plundered beehive was attributed to a bear, only in Tyrol does the bear appear larger, 41 sheep were killed and 66 disappeared in this one year charged. In September 2022, a bear in Häselgehr in the Tyrolean Lechtal made headlines, which is said to have killed more than 30 sheep and goats.
Source: Nachrichten
