Overview
- The Agriculture Committee is holding an expert hearing today on a draft that would add wolves to the Federal Hunting Act with population-management rules, with a Bundestag decision targeted for early March.
- The government bill cites EU-level changes that lowered the wolf’s protection status, opening the door for national hunting provisions under the Bundesjagdgesetz.
- The draft follows mounting conflicts over livestock losses, with 1,100 reported wolf incidents and about 4,300 animals killed or injured in 2024, alongside €23.4 million spent on herd protection and €0.78 million in compensation.
- Conservation groups and cited studies contend culling does not reliably cut livestock attacks because removed wolves are quickly replaced by reproduction or immigration.
- Livestock groups call for fully funded non-lethal protections such as fencing and guardian dogs, while some hunters back state-led control, and a recent Baden-Württemberg ruling allows a targeted shoot of the 'Hornisgrinde' wolf until March 10.