As of: March 5, 2024, 6:38 p.m
By: Andreas Jäger
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News of cracks is increasing, as are sightings of packs - wolves are once again an issue in Bavaria.
It's not just farmers who are worried about this development.
Munich - Stories of the big bad wolf - unfortunately in Bavaria they are no longer a fairy tale, but reality.
After reports of cracks have increased in recent months, it is now clear to many: the wolf has spread again in Bavaria.
The most recent case comes from Großhelferdorf, a district of the municipality of Aying, only around 30 kilometers from Munich.
One morning in February, a farmer saw a terrible scene: he found two dead sheep in the pasture.
A third was so badly injured that the farmer had to rescue him.
Everything looks like a wolf tear, the probability is around 80 percent.
However, a DNA comparison should provide 100% clarity.
Since the incident, there has been fear in Aying and the surrounding area: horse owners and farmers have expressed concern for their animals.
Even walkers who spend more time in the forest now have an uneasy feeling.
The wolf is spreading more and more in Bavaria.
(Symbolic image) © Boris Roessler/dpa
Wolf packs in the Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen districts
A wolf also recently appeared near Schwandorf in the Upper Palatinate - but it no longer poses any danger.
Because the animal was run over on Autobahn 93 and killed.
The second accident of this kind within a few days: Just over a week ago, a similar incident occurred on the A93, about 20 kilometers south.
A wolf was also killed.
According to estimates, the wolf was a male cub born in 2023.
The wolf problem is also present in the Upper Bavarian district of Weilheim-Schongau.
For example, last October a sheep was killed near Penzberg.
Around a year after a female wolf first became noticeable in the region.
A few months later, traces of urine from a male animal were found.
And in February it was finally announced that the two had fathered offspring - a wildlife camera had captured three puppies.
Farmers in the region are now more than worried; local BBV chairman Wolfgang Scholz called the development regarding wolves “dramatic”.
(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all the important stories from the Free State. Sign up here.)
Agriculture in the Alpine region could be “on the verge of extinction”.
And since a wolf's territory covers around 100 to 350 square kilometers, neighboring counties are also alarmed.
Joseph Grasegger from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, chairman of the regional association of Bavarian sheep farmers, sees agriculture in the foothills of the Alps “on the brink of extinction” if things continue like this.
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In Bavaria, six wolf packs are currently known in different areas of the Free State; in addition to the “Staffelsee-West” area (which includes the Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen districts), these also include the Allgäu Alps, the Altmühltal and the north of the Bavarian Forest.
Union calls for the strict wolf protection status to be reduced
The wolf and his activities are now also a concern for politics.
Bavaria's Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) demanded in an interview with
Bild
: “We finally need the possibility of regulating stocks regardless of damage.
Otherwise the wolf will spread unchecked.” Something similar can also be heard in the European election program of the Union parties – there they call for a reduction in the strict wolf protection status.
(aj)
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