Eco-Green Reality Check: Wolves Stroll Through Central Europe, Kill Livestock--Politicians Ignore the Issue

In yet another great win for the anti-human factions, big predators are re-establishing themselves, posing serious challenges for locals and everyone else

Today’s post brings up a topic that has, so far, received little (appropriate, I think) coverage in legacy or alt-media. We’re talking about the return of the one-feared (think: ‘Little Red Riding Hood’) alpha predator, the wolf.

In recent weeks, sightings of roaming wolf have increased in rural Austria, and they did so to a remarkable degree: while wolfs killed around 800 heads of livestock last year (that would be the official headcount), one of these creatures has been seen strolling down a neighbourhood near Schrems in rural Lower Austria (pop. around 5,300).

As always, translation of the following pieces and emphases mine, as are the bottom lines.

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Wolf Sighted in Residential Area Near Gmünd

Niederösterreichische Nachrichten, 4 May 2023 (source)

A wolf was sighted on Wednesday in a settlement area in Pürbach, a cadastral municipality [outlying, incorporated settlement] of Schrems (Gmünd County). The animal was calmly walking along the main road near a railway crossing, eyewitness Rene Koppensteiner said according to ORF Lower Austria. In an interview with the Austrian Press Agency (APA), wolf commissioner Aldin Selimovic described the sighting as ‘worrying’. Further measures are being examined, the Lower Austrian Hunting Association said upon request.

The wolf had run across a meadow, Koppensteiner recollects, according to ORF. According to the report, the man had happened to be passing by in his car and had photographed the sighting. It had been an adult animal, and after a few minutes it had disappeared again in the direction of the forest. According to the wolf commissioner, the incident in Pürbach is a well-documented sighting, as, so far, there have been mostly reports without photographic or video evidence.

Selimovic told APA that if a wolf walks through the village during the day—despite having enough opportunities for evasion—and does not appear frightened, this is ‘not normal behaviour’. Causes could be an injury or illness, but the animal could also be looking for food in the rubbish or in a compost or dung heap, said the official from the Research Institute for Wildlife Science and Ecology. He recommended keeping an eye on the situation and, in case of another sighting in the village, to observe the wolf’s behaviour closely before possibly taking further measures.

‘The case has been reported to the hunter in charge [Jagdbeauftragter], who will decide whether the animal will be scared off or taken away’, the Lower Austrian Hunting Association told APA. Reference was made to the new wolf ordinance that came into force on 3 April, which allows measures against ‘problematic wolves’, such as scaring them away or shooting them, to be taken more quickly and under precise conditions without prior official orders.

In the case of ‘undesirable behaviour’, the hunter is allowed to scare off the wolf on the spot with warning shots in order to make the animal flee, the hunting association stated. If the animal shows ‘problematic behaviour’, such as ‘unprovoked aggressiveness towards humans’, it must be removed from the hunting area within four weeks. Every measure had to be reported to the competent county administration [Bezirkshauptmannschaft]. The relevant circumstances of the intervention and the manner in which it was carried out have to be explained.

Wolf sightings had to be reported directly to the hunter on site, the locally competent county administration, the magistrate [Wildtierinfo], or—in case of a dangerous situation—to the nearest police station, informs the Lower Austrian Hunting Association. The information would be passed on to the person authorised to hunt.

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Mayor Sounds the Alarm: Wolves in Styria Threaten Humans and Animals

By Stefan Beig, eXXpress.at, 10 May 2023 (source)

For years, wolves multiplied rapidly—to the delight of conservationists. Now wolf attacks on alpine pastures are increasing. In residential areas, the animals are increasingly frightening families. Andreas Kühberger (ÖVP) warns of a dramatic summer. In Styria, the Environmental State Councillor [Landesrat, the title of a state-level cabinet-level official] must finally take action.

The situation threatens to escalate if politicians do nothing, warns Andreas Kühberger (49, ÖVP). ‘It is 5 to 12’, says the Member of the National Council [Nationalrat, a national MP] and mayor of the Styrian market town of Mautern in an interview with eXXpress.

Wolf Packs are Increasing all over Austria

791 farm animals were officially killed by wolves in Austria last year. The number of unreported cases is probably much higher, around 2000, Kühberger estimates. In the meantime, Styria is also confronted with wolf packs. The wolf population doubles every three years; and a wolf can cover up to 100 kilometres every night. This year, the politician fears a bloody summer for many farm animals.

Only recently, in the night from Monday to Tuesday [10-11 May], a flock of sheep was attacked in Oberstuttern in the Styrian district of Liezen, despite an electric fence. The wolf killed three sheep, two were killed immediately, the third was seriously injured. It had to be mercy-slaughtered afterwards. The mauled carcasses lay between several farms, less than 100 metres from the Ennstal federal highway (B320). The owner was traumatised: ‘I had a very close relationship with the animals, I think I’m still in shock.’

On the Mountain Pasture, a Wolf Goes into a Blood Frenzy

Kühberger is a farmer himself. ‘We suffer along with our animals’, he emphasises. The wolf behaves among sheep like the fox in the henhouse: it goes into a blood frenzy: ‘He tears out the sheep’s intestines. The animal perishes miserably.’ The farmers affected are usually family farms.

Where wolf attacks are more frequent, families no longer let their children go outside alone. This affects the way to school as well as children playing outside in the forest. The situation is no different in the settlement area in Schrems (district of Gmünd [see above]), where a wolf recently walked along the main road: parents there no longer want their children to wait for the school bus.

Problematic Wolves Should be Free Game

In Styria, it is now the turn of Ursula Lackner (SPÖ), the State Councillor for the Environment, to act, says the ÖVP politician. A regulation for problematic wolves is needed. Such a regulation already exists in Tyrol, Carinthia, and Lower Austria. There, a wolf is declared free game [i.e., pre-cleared for shooting] as soon as it attacks a herd.

Andreas Kühberger demands such a regulation also for Styria. No-one wants to eradicate wolves, but their unchecked spread must be stopped. Otherwise, Styria would face what is already a reality in the Swiss canton of Graubünden [or Grisons]: ten wolf packs live there. In the entire cantonal territory, one must expect to run into the animals.

If the wolf population gets out of hand, it will have consequences for general safety, for game and ultimately also for the forest. ‘You have to manage the forest. After all, it is no longer a primordial forest. We have a cultural landscape’, Kühberger states. The development affects agriculture and tourism

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Bottom Lines

I very well remember legacy media ‘debates’ back when I was living in Switzerland: bears and wolves were sighted in the mid-2010s, which brought joy to the ‘Greens’, but caused significant losses to local farmers and tourism numbers.

I also remember visiting a wildlife refuge outside Zurich, Switzerland, that keeps, among others, lynx, wolves, and bears. The kids liked to watch the animals, but once or twice some of them came pretty close to the fence: my girls were scared, much like other children who stand to close to, say, big cat or gorilla cages in zoos (just look for such videos on youtube).

A few weeks ago, a jogger was killed by a bear in South Tyrol, Italy. While authorities quickly had the ‘problematic bear’ killed, nothing was done to address the root cause: habitat loss, apparently successful re-settlement/wilding programs for such big predators (wolves, bears), and little, if any, regard for informing the public about the consequences.

So far, (mandatory) agricultural insurance doesn’t typically cover losses incurred due to predator attacks, mainly because insurers don’t consider it too widespread a problem. This will likely change in the near future, if the ‘pro-environment’ groups have their way.

You know, back in the olden days before industrialisation, wolves were ruthlessly hunted and killed because they are such a big problem for the above-related reasons. Now, I’m not coming out in favour of killing wolves just so, but there were many good reasons for doing that. Bringing very dangerous animals back to our neighbourhoods is—plainly stupid.

It’s a bit different in the US and Canada, where people in rural areas are more used to living with such creatures. The peoples of Europe have been cuddled to such a degree it’s almost impossible to believe. Yet, here we are, re-learning that wolves and bears are pretty dangerous big animals that do not really co-exist very well with humans.

Back in the olden days, way fewer people lived in Europe, and the memories of people being pretty scared of wolves live on in our fairy tales. No knowledge about wildlife, weird notions (such as cuddly cartoons), and a quasi-narcissistic behaviour of ‘anything goes’ outside will result in tragedies, as well as in a renewed push to either declare people or wolves ‘free game’. In this regard, there is no middle ground that does not involve fences or cages.

In this regard, push will soon come to shove.