Too many dead wolves in Germany: some are not examined
Published: Tuesday, Jul 23rd 2024, 11:10
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The number of wolves found dead in Germany is now so high that only every second animal can be comprehensively examined. In Switzerland, too, not every single animal has been subjected to a thorough autopsy since last year for capacity reasons.
Until the beginning of May, every dead wolf found in Germany ended up in a computer tomograph and on the dissection table, explained the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin. Now, with more than a hundred dead wolves a year, this is no longer possible. The 1000th dead wolf was recently examined at the institute.
Around three quarters of these wolves died in traffic accidents. Every tenth animal was shot illegally, although wolves are a strictly protected species and may not be hunted in Germany. In the latest wolf monitoring, more than 1,339 wolves were detected in Germany, spread across almost all federal states.
In Switzerland, every dead wolf animal is still examined, but since the end of last year it is no longer mandatory to carry out an autopsy. Most post-mortems are carried out by the Institute of Fish and Wildlife Health at the University of Bern (Fiwi). It is interested in the monitoring and early detection of diseases.
Marked increase in dead animals
In recent years, the number of investigations of wolf carcasses has risen significantly due to increasing populations on the one hand and recent shootings on the other. In 2022, the Fiwi carried out 37 analyses, compared to just 8 in 2018.
According to Fiwi's annual report published last year, the testing of wolves represents a challenge for the capacities in wildlife diagnostics and brings little added value for animal health monitoring. A reduction in the number of tests carried out was urgently needed.
In some cases, Fiwi now only carries out minimal tests for presumably healthy animals. In addition, the cantons sometimes carry out the tests themselves, Fiwi said on request.
Last year, 313 individual wolves were detected in Switzerland. The cantons had several dozen animals shot to prevent potential damage to livestock.
©Keystone/SDA
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