On the occasion of the planned consultation on the amendment of the Federal Hunting Act and the Federal Nature Conservation Act in the Federal Cabinet on December 17, the German Animal Welfare Federation urgently warns against including the wolf in hunting law. In the association's opinion, the draft law under discussion also contradicts key points of current European species protection law.
“The inclusion of wolves in hunting law and the massive interventions in the wolf population planned by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture are neither fact-based nor legally compliant. The creation of wolf-free zones or the legitimization of culling during the closed season, even to the extent of killing entire packs, is incompatible with EU law,” says Thomas Schröder, president of the German Animal Welfare Federation. The draft law only exacerbates potential conflicts and is not an effective solution for protecting grazing animals. “The draft must be withdrawn in its entirety,” demands Schröder.
EU LAW AND ANIMAL WELFARE ARE BEING IGNORED
According to the German Animal Welfare Federation, the draft contradicts the European Union's Habitats Directive, according to which wolves may only be killed under strict exceptional circumstances, even after this year's downgrading of their protection status. This is also confirmed by a legal opinion commissioned jointly with other associations. In addition, there are serious animal welfare concerns: the planned culling outside of regular hunting seasons, the possible killing of parent animals, and the associated destruction of social pack structures are in clear contradiction to recognized principles of animal welfare.
DRAFT LAW OFFERS NO SOLUTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF GRAZING ANIMALS
The German Animal Welfare Federation also criticizes that grazing animals will not be helped by the planned measures against wolves: "Those who give blanket permission to shoot wolves are not contributing to the protection of grazing animals – on the contrary. If, for example, one parent is missing from the pack, the remaining partner must take care of the pups alone and inevitably tries to find easier prey, such as inadequately protected sheep or goats. In the worst case, culling leads to more attacks. A resident wolf pack that has learned to respect protective measures, on the other hand, is the most effective protection for grazing animals," says James Brückner, head of the wildlife department at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “Those who play off the protection of grazing animals against the protection of wolves are distracting from the real task at hand: providing greater support to grazing animal owners by consistently expanding and financing herd protection.”
