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A wolf could have ripped off a pony (symbolic picture)
Photo: Michael Schöne / STAR-MEDIA / imago images
Wolves may have torn a pony in the municipality of Hünxe in North Rhine-Westphalia.
On Tuesday, the pony was found dead in the Schermbeck wolf area in the Wesel district, said the NRW Ministry of the Environment in Düsseldorf.
According to an initial assessment by experts, the animal was killed by a bite in the throat.
A DNA sample and a veterinary pathological examination should clarify whether a wolf killed the animal.
"I am concerned that after sheep that have to be protected in the pastures, individual horses are now apparently being attacked," said North Rhine-Westphalia's Environment and Agriculture Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser (CDU): "If the suspicion is confirmed, that the pony was torn by one or more wolves, it would be the third wolf tear of a pony. «Dead ponies had already been found in October 2020 and last January.
As soon as the results of the investigations are available, the situation in the wolf area Schermbeck must be reassessed, it said.
If the she-wolf with the identifier GW954f, which has often been conspicuous, was involved, this could have consequences.
Then it has to be decided whether the she-wolf needs to be killed.
In October 2018, the Schermbeck wolf area was the first of its kind to be designated in North Rhine-Westphalia because wolves had settled there permanently.
Most recently, two wolves and their pups were detected there.
ptz