Wolf killing in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Environment Minister under fire

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister for Agriculture and Climate Protection, Till Backhaus (SPD), is also a member of the state parliament and enjoys immunity, which protects parliamentarians from prosecution. However, the state parliament has now lifted this privilege because the politician must answer to the courts for the killing of a female wolf. He had approved the animal's shooting, thus violating the strict protection regulations for wolves, according to the public prosecutor's office.

The controversial matter dates back some time: In March 2020, the Rostock district, at the request of Backhaus's ministry, approved the shooting of a female wolf . According to witness statements, the animal had apparently repeatedly approached a farm dog and had probably mated with it. Therefore, there was a possibility of wolf-dog hybrids emerging. Till Backhaus justified his approval of the shooting at the time by arguing that such hybridization posed a threat to the wolf population.

The female wolf was subsequently shot in April 2020. Previous attempts had been made to capture the female with a box trap or to capture her with a tranquilizer gun, the minister reported at the time. Both attempts had been unsuccessful.

Regarding the question of whether wolf hybrids actually pose a threat, the environmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) believes that such hybrids are a concern from a species conservation perspective. "Because wolf hybrids dilute the genetic makeup of the wolf population and could lead to the extinction of the species in the long term," the wildlife experts warn. For humans, however, the WWF – contrary to popular belief – does not see any major threat: "In fact, there is no scientific evidence to support the theory that wolf hybrids are particularly dangerous to humans," the WWF website states.

The autopsy of the animal killed in 2020 revealed that the female wolf was not pregnant. However, during her lifetime, the observed events had posed a threat to the wolf population from a species conservation perspective, Backhaus pointed out. He found the public prosecutor's decision to file charges over the permit to shoot her incomprehensible.

The law enforcement agency accuses the minister and several of his employees of illegally lobbying the district to authorize the killing of the wolf. This violates the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Backhaus rejects this, arguing that the allegations are unfounded. Rather, those involved acted lawfully within the scope of their official duties "to avert the danger of hybridization."

The autopsy of the animal killed in 2020 revealed that the female wolf was not pregnant.

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An administrative court had already declared the shooting permissible, but the Higher Administrative Court in Greifswald took a different view. This prompted the public prosecutor's office to take action. In their view, while the shooting of wolf hybrids is permitted, the precautionary killing of a suspected pregnant female wolf is not. The question of the legality of the shooting permit is now the subject of an appeal before the Federal Administrative Court.

Wolf protection remains a controversial issue – especially between conservationists and livestock farmers. This is currently a topic of discussion at the spring conference of environment ministers in Orscholz, Saarland. There, farmers' associations, land users' associations, and livestock farmers' associations issued a joint statement calling on politicians to initiate a regulation of the wolf population in Germany – a significant reduction in the number of wolves is required.