“People go crazy because of the wolf”

“Herd protection measures are ineffective,” droned Swiss wildlife biologist Marcel Züger, calling for the wolf’s protection status to be lowered. This was followed by affirmative comments from farmers and alpine pasture representatives, also arguing that fencing on alpine meadows would harm tourism. “That’s really annoying,” says WWF wolf expert Christian Pichler in an interview with krone.at. “Because it’s just not true!”

It is absurd that herd protection measures work particularly well in Switzerland. According to Pichler, there are currently 36 wolf packs (for comparison, in Austria we currently count between six and seven packs or about 70 individual animals), almost all of which are in the mountainous part, and many more sheep than in the Alps. republic. Nevertheless, our neighbor only registers about a third more cracks than we do. “And the reason is not because they have wolves that avoid sheep, but because they are better protected there,” says the expert. The WWF always strives to have an objective discussion with politicians about this. “But then the Chamber of Agriculture brings in an agitator from Switzerland who has never worked with wolves and has little knowledge of the subject of herd protection,” says Pichler in surprise. And then this opinion sticks.

Wolf management is also possible in Austria
With the right political will, efficient wolf management could also be implemented here. According to Pichler, the most important step has been taken with anti-wolf fences and herding the alpine meadows. Instead, false statements of fact are spread. In principle, shepherding and a fence would only bring benefits. Sick sheep would be recognized and treated more quickly by the shepherd. In addition, there were many complaints from farmers that tourists with dogs walked through the herds of sheep on the mountain meadows. Every now and then the sheep get scared. For example, there are cases where animals have fallen and died because of this. “It would be desirable if tourists were enlightened and avoided the flock of sheep,” the expert says hopefully.

The principle of the anti-wolf fence is simple: there is no need to build a high-security fence. After all, the wolf has a lot to eat and instinctively looks for what is easiest to catch. “If he has a harder time with the sheep because of fences that give him an electric shock, he would rather look for a sick deer in the forest,” Pichler explains. So you have good protection with a reasonable effort. “And the sheep must be worth it to us,” the researcher calls out.

Shock after “Dolly Gate”: Does the wolf really eat horses?
In short, the wolf is considered a health policeman. It feeds mainly on sick, weak and old wild animals. Every now and then he kills farm animals, but the number is negligible compared to that. It mainly affects sheep, sometimes cattle and wild animals. The hysteria after “Dolly Gate” – a wolf killed a pony belonging to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – is unfounded, according to data sent by the WWF to krone.at. Only three cunning horses are known in the archives in Austria.

Only 0.21 percent of sheep are killed by wolves
But even when it comes to sheep, only a very small proportion of them have wolves as their ‘killers’: a paltry 0.21 percent of fluffy white animals in farming fall victim to them. Ten times more people die from storms, falling rocks and disease. The WWF sees an urgent need to catch up here. The sheep must not be left to fend for themselves on the mountain pastures. There is an urgent need for good fences and shepherds to keep the animals together during thunderstorms. Many sheep were afraid and fell. However, their worst killer is humans anyway. 80 percent of sheep farmed end up in the slaughterhouse and eventually end up on our plates.

In addition to the lack of supervision during thunderstorms, alpine meadows also pose the problem that significantly more cracks occur there. Even at the global calculation, more sheep are killed on the alpine pastures than among those who do not live on the alpine pastures – even though the majority of them do not live on the alpine pastures. “If we can get to the moon, why do some politicians claim that you can’t fence in herds of sheep? “That is probably possible as long as grazing livestock farmers also receive support,” says Pichler in surprise.

How dangerous are wolves to humans?
Wolves pose virtually no danger to us humans – the chance of being killed by a wolf is almost 0.0. With a wild animal there is of course always a residual risk. “It could be that he gets fed, which is always a problem, and then he loses his natural shyness,” he said.

Such an exciting case circulated in the media a few days ago. In a small village in Trentino, Italy, a wolf came dangerously close to its mother. Without any shyness, the apparently young wild animal ran straight across the cross-country ski trail in Italy’s Fassa Valley and was undisturbed by several amateur athletes running across the snow strip. “This time nothing happened, but who knows if the The next meeting will be the same, it is harmless,” say community representatives of the town of Pozza di Fassa. It is said that the wolf became so trusting at the hands of humans. According to the news portal “Südtirol News”, hikers even fed the animal and constantly took photos with it.

However, in general, it is possible to come to terms with the wolf. According to Pichler, the fear of him is deliberately incited. Five to six years ago, the uncertainty among the population was not so great. Nowadays people are ‘made crazy by the wolf’. The hysteria has now even spread to the lynx – an animal with which, according to the scientist, there have never been any incidents with humans. And while there are really dangerous animals in the forest when they are looking for mushrooms. Like ticks. “People really die from it,” Pichler finally warns.