Brandenburg Eases Rules for Shooting Wolves
A new management plan allows up to ten predators to be killed each year. What are the reasons behind the change?
Brandenburg will ease rules for killing wolves that attack farm animals, according to a new wolf management plan presented on Wednesday in Potsdam. The state government announced that up to ten wolves can be killed annually in designated intervention zones surrounding locations where livestock were attacked. This new approach, which follows similar policies in Hesse and Lower Saxony, allows for the removal of wolves that bypass adequate herd protection.
Brandenburg's Agriculture and Environment Minister, Hanka Mittelstädt, emphasized that wolves remain a protected species, but hunting can be employed when necessary. The ministry currently estimates that there are at least 50 wolf packs with five to ten animals each, nine pairs, and three territorial loners in the state. Wolf attacks on livestock have decreased significantly since 2023, with only 133 cases reported as of September this year, compared to 358 in 2023.
The State Hunting Association criticized the cap on wolf killings as too low, stating that a stronger reduction of the wolf population is needed to prevent damage. The change in wolf protection status took effect on April 2nd, 2026, under the Federal Hunting Act and the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Nationwide, wolf attacks on livestock have increased fivefold in ten years, with 3,783 animals killed in Germany last year, mostly sheep.
Lower Saxony recorded the highest number of livestock kills last year, with 970, up from 237 a decade earlier.
Written by urgent.news from The Berlin Spectator's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
