Animal rights campaigners are facing off with shepherds over a wolf that is reportedly killing livestock in a German forest.
The “rogue wolf” reportedly attacked eight sheep and a goat in the Odenwald forest in southern Germany and is now the target of local shepherds.
Grey wolves were extinct for 150 years in the area, which covers Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
“I have a queasy feeling, especially when I go for a walk with my dog,” a local resident told the Frankfurter Neue Presse.
It is unclear whether there is just one wolf or several, as the animals usually hunt and live in packs.
“Many pet owners fear financial losses,” said Bernd Keller, chairman of the forest’s shepherds association, which has 120 members.
Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami
Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami
-
1/8
Jennifer Nelson, senior keeper at Zoo Miami, leads a cheetah named Koda to a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
-
2/8
Ryan Martinez, a trainer at Zoo Miami, places an Eurasion Eagle Owl into a crate
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
-
3/8
Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo,
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
-
4/8
Brown pelicans and an American white pelican take refuge in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
-
5/8
An African crested porcupine is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida,
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
-
6/8
A macaw parrot looks out of it's cage after being put into a shelter
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
-
7/8
An African grey parrot is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
-
8/8
Cheetahs are photographed in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida,
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
He called for the animal to be killed, despite wolves being an endangered species and protected by law.
The newspaper reported that local farmer and hunter Dietrich Kübler said he and his wife saw the wolf attacking livestock.
“That a wolf dares so close to human dwellings, that speaks to its problematic behaviour,” he told the paper.
World news in pictures
World news in pictures
-
1/35
Demonstrators set US and Israeli flags on fire during a protest against Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in Istanbul
REUTERS
-
2/35 9 December 2017
People gather to watch the bikers' procession during the funeral ceremony in tribute to late French singer Johnny Hallyday in Paris
EPA
-
3/35 8 December 2017
A Palestinian protester uses a sling to hurl stones towards Israeli troops
REUTERS
-
4/35 7 December 2017
Firefighters monitor a section of the Thomas Fire along the 101 freeway, north of Ventura, California.
Getty Images
-
5/35 6 December 2017
Palestinians burn an Israeli and a U.S. flag during a protest against the U.S. intention to move its embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Gaza City
Reuters
-
6/35 5 December 2017
Former Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, flashes a victory sign after he was freed by his supporters in Kiev
REUTERS
-
7/35 4 December 2017
A man exercises in a park on a winter morning in Kolkata, India
REUTERS
-
8/35 3 December 2017
A supporter of Salvador Nasralla, presidential candidate for the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, puts a balloon on the shield of a soldier in a protest while the country is still mired in chaos over a contested presidential election in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
REUTERS
-
9/35 2 December 2017
A man dressed as Santa Claus skiis down a mountain during the Saint Nicholas Day at the Alpine ski resort of Verbier, Switzerland
REUTERS
-
10/35 1 December 2017
A nurse takes blood for a HIV test for French President Emmanuel Macron as he visits the Delafontaine Hospital on World Aids Day
Reuters
-
11/35 30 November 2017
An activist pours gasoline as an effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte and U.S. President Donald Trump burns during a protest action against Duterte's plan to set up a Revolutionary Government, along a street in metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
-
12/35 29 November 2017
South Korea's Hyunmoo II missile is fired during an exercise at an undefined location in the east coast of South Korea
The Defence Ministry/Yonhap via REUTERS
-
13/35 28 November 2017
People fall as police fire tear gas to try control the crowd trying to force their way into Kasarani Stadium to attend the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi
REUTERS
-
14/35 27 November 2017
Rohingya refugee Amina Khatun, 55, rests at the bank of the Naf river after crossing it on an improvised raft to reach Bangladesh, in Teknaf. Two of her sons were killed by gun fire when her village was attacked by Myanmar military, she says
Reuters
-
15/35 26 November 2017
Mount Agung volcano is seen spewing smoke and ash in Bali
EMILIO KUZMA-FLOYD/via REUTERS
-
16/35 25 November 2017
A Pakistani protester throws a tear gas shell back towards police during a clash in Islamabad
AFP/Getty Images
-
17/35 24 November 2017
Zimbabwe's former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives ahead of his inauguration ceremony to be sworn in as president in Harare
Reuters
-
18/35 23 November 2017
Comrades of missing crew members express their grief after the Argentine Navy announced that the sound detected in the missing submarine search is consistent with an explosion
AFP
-
19/35 22 November 2017
Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic shouts at the presiding judge during the verdict hearing in his genocide trial, in The Hague, Netherlands
EPA
-
20/35 21 November 2017
People and soldiers celebrate after the resignation of Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe
AFP/Getty
-
21/35 20 November 2017
Israeli security forces carry away an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrator as they disperse a protest against Israeli army conscription in Bnei Brak, a city near Tel Aviv
AFP/Getty
-
22/35 19 November 2017
Participants crossing the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge as they compete in the 2017 Qingdao International Marathon on the Sea in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province
AFP/Getty
-
23/35 18 November 2017
Women shout pro-freedom slogans as people carry the remains of Mugees Mir, a suspected militant who according to local media was killed in an encounter with the Indian security forces in Zakura, during his funeral in Srinagar
Reuters/Danish Ismail
-
24/35 17 November 2017
Riot police use stones to disperse the convoy of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga as they attempt to access the Uhuru Park grounds upon his return
REUTERS
-
25/35 16 November 2017
Donald Trump has awkward water bottle moment at the White House while talking about his latest overseas trip in Asia
EPA
-
26/35 15 November 2017
Military vehicles and soldiers patrol the streets in Harare, Zimbabwe
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
-
27/35 14 November 2017
An Iranian boy rides a bicycle through the rubble from damaged buildings in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake left hundreds killed and thousands homeless two days before.
AFP/Getty Images
-
28/35 13 November 2017
Gianluigi Buffon reacts during Italy's World Cup qualification match against Sweden. He retired from international duty after the Azzurri failed to go through.
AFP/Getty
-
29/35 12 November 2017
Pepole hold placards demanding the return of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia during the annual Beirut International Marathon
EPA
-
30/35 11 November 2017
Polish nationalists light flares as they take part in the March of Independence 2017 in Warsaw
EPA
-
31/35 10 November 2017
Protesters rally near the U.S. Embassy in Manila to protest this weekend's visit of President Donald Trump
AP
-
32/35 9 November 2017
Shiite faithful pilgrims gather between the holy shrine of Imam Hussein and the holy shrine of Imam Abbas for Arbaeen
AP
-
33/35 8 November 2017
A woman wearing a scarf to cover her face looks on as she waits for a passenger bus on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India. Air pollution reached unprecedented levels in the city, prompting the government's Central Pollution Control Board to recommend emergency free public transport
Reuters
-
34/35 7 November 2017
Russian solider stands in line at a military parade, that marks the anniversary of the 1941 parade, when Soviet soldiers marched towards the front lines of World War Two, at Red Square in Moscow, Russia
Reuters
-
35/35 6 November 2017
A Houthi follower emerges from a gap in a flag as he attends a rally to show support to the Palestinians in Sanaa, Yemen
Reuters
Despite their concerns, the Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology disputes the claims that there is one wolf causing damage in the forest.
The local paper reported that farmers were accused of not securing their animals properly in paddocks and their animals became easy prey for wolves.
Susanne Jokisch, a wolf commissioner and biologist from the Hessian State Office, said the calls to hunt the animal were “unjustified and inappropriate”.
Campaigners say wolves are of no danger to people, and that farmers could use electric fences or dogs to ward them off.
Read more
Authorities said they would investigate further if a wolf repeatedly approached a person within a distance of 30 metres or less.
Wolves were once extinct in Germany, but since 2000 they have been growing in numbers as they cross the Polish border.
According to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, 60 wolf packs now live in Germany, a rise of 13 packs in the last year.
- More about:
- Germany
- German Shepherds
- Environmentalism
- Wolves
Reuse content