Male wolf GW950m tore bangs from EU Commission chief von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen (centre) in training for her appearance at the opening ceremony of the European Equestrian Championships 2015

Photo: Uwe Anspach/ dpa

After the death of a pony belonging to the family of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Burgdorf near Hanover, one thing is certain: the animal was killed by a wolf.

According to a spokesman for the Ministry of the Environment in Hanover, genetic tests confirmed that it was the wolf with the identifier GW950m.

The male belongs to the Burgdorf pack and has already torn several farm animals such as sheep, cattle and horses, as reported by the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" and other media.

At the beginning of September it became known that the 30-year-old pony Dolly had fallen victim to a suspected wolf attack.

The pony was in the paddock with another pony that had not been injured.

The whole family was "terribly upset by the news," von der Leyen said at the time, according to a statement about the incident.

According to "Bild", her husband had discovered the carcass very close to the family home.

Von der Leyen is considered an enthusiastic rider.

EU Commission wants to check protection status

In a letter to members of the European Parliament last week, EU Commission President von der Leyen announced that the EU Commission wanted to examine the current protection status of the wolf.

The background is an initiative by the EPP group in the European Parliament to reassess the wolf strategy in Europe.

So far, the wolf, which has been spreading from Eastern Europe to Germany for several years, has been considered a strictly protected animal.

dam/dpa