Agriculture Minister Norbert Tuechnig (ÖVP) has called for a review of the EU’s regulation on wolves. The Fauna-Flora-Habitat (FFH) directive offers the possibility of “removing” the wolves problem, but there are problems with “enforcement of these exceptional stocks”, he criticized Tochnig on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels. The scope of implementation is “too narrowly defined” in the EU regulation.
The politician from the ÖVP explained that proving that the wolf is in fact a “problem wolf” is “extremely difficult”. Additionally, there is no way to preemptively “remove” wolves, but cracks caused by the wolf in question must be proven. In Austria, the implementation of EU directives is the responsibility of the federal states. Complaints could be filed against shooting decisions – as is currently the case in Tirol – and therefore also stopped.
About 30 wolves in Austria
Tochnig also calls for monitoring across Europe “so we know the actual population size”. This should enable EU-wide equity regulation, which already exists in individual EU countries such as France and Sweden.
According to “Austrian Central Bears, Wolf, Loach,” 31 wolves have been discovered in this country this year — and the trend is on the rise. Accordingly, a total of 489 sheep, goats and one cow were killed this year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there were about 680 chucks in cattle in 2021 and about 330 chucks in 2020. In Europe, the number of wolves is estimated at 17,000.
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