23 dead sheep near Rauris: State of Salzburg gives permission to shoot another wolf

The animal can now be hunted for four weeks within a radius of ten kilometers around the last livestock kill. The period starts again with each new incident.

Marlene Svazek (FPÖ), the deputy governor responsible for hunting and nature conservation, announced in a press release that, according to experts, herd protection was not possible in the area affected by the wolf attacks. The wolf now approved for shooting would be the second to be officially killed in Salzburg. The dead and missing sheep in Rauris were the first and so far only documented livestock attacks in the state in 2024.

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The state of Salzburg has been struggling for years to come up with a strategy for dealing with wolves, which are strictly protected under EU law. After a relatively uneventful 2022, around five dozen dead and injured livestock were documented in the state in 2023 as a result of wolf attacks. In June 2023 alone, a female wolf is said to have killed more than 30 sheep and lambs. The state subsequently responded with its own regulation, and the female wolf was shot dead by a hunter in the Hochkönig area a week later.

Amendment makes killing of wolves easier

Most recently, on April 24, 2024, the governing parties ÖVP and FPÖ passed an amendment to the hunting law in the Salzburg state parliament (together with the votes of the SPÖ), making it significantly easier to kill wolves in the state. In the current case, however, the old regulation would probably have applied. Animal and nature conservation organizations have repeatedly sharply criticized the state’s approach. They believe that serious herd protection is very possible, and shooting would remain illegal under EU law even with regulations.