Saxony makes it easier to shoot wolves

Saxony makes it easier to shoot wolves. In the evening, the state parliament passed a law in which population management is transferred to the hunting authorities and the protection of wolves is adjusted. In this way, the Free State is implementing federal regulations.

In April, the laws amending the Federal Hunting Act and the Federal Nature Conservation Act came into force. From now on, a wolf can be hunted if it can be proven that a farm animal has been injured or killed by him and he has overcome herd protection devices to do so.

»Become capable of acting«

“It was and is my declared goal that we finally become able to act on the wolf issue,” explained Environment and Agriculture Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch (CDU) in the state parliament. The decision sends a signal to grazing livestock farmers to take their concerns seriously.

According to authorities, a total of 46 wolf territories were detected in Saxony during the 2024/2025 monitoring. There are 35 wolf packs, ten wolf pairs and one territorial lone wolf. Most of the territories are in Upper Lusatia. There are 27 packs living there, five pairs and one she-wolf.

200 dead farm animals

This year, 116 cases of damage were reported by livestock farmers by the end of July. In 73 cases, it is sufficiently certain that the wolf was the cause. 200 farm animals were killed. Sheep are mostly affected, but goats and cattle also fall victim. If proof is provided, the owners will receive compensation for damages.

Relaxing the protection status of the wolf is also controversial in Saxony. Green politician Franziska Schubert accused the government of trying to beat its head into the wall in order to release the wolf to kill. Saxony even goes beyond federal regulations. The draft law says nothing about the qualifications of the shooters. “It also says nothing about the upper extraction limit, nothing about the participation of associations or grazing livestock, nothing about scientific evaluation and nothing about reporting obligations,” says Franziska Schubert.