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Dresden (dpa / sn) - With the beginning of the grazing season, wolf attacks on farm animals are again being reported in Saxony.
The Wittichenau and Kamenz regions in East Saxony are currently particularly affected, said the Wolf department at the State Environment Agency on Wednesday.
Farmers and animal breeding associations are tense because of the development.
The Wolf department calls on animal owners to review and improve the protective measures for their herds.
One hundred percent protection against attacks by wolves is not possible.
But the damage could be limited.
A well-built electric fence is most effective.
According to the State Environment Agency, so far this year there have been ten wolf cracks in the Bautzen district and five in the Görlitz district.
In the same period of 2020, three cases of damage were reported in the Bautzen district and none in the Görlitz district.
At the beginning of last year, the focus was more on northern Saxony (12), central Saxony (8) and the Meißen district (7).
A total of 178 cases of damage to farm animals were reported last year, 108 of which were "reasonably certain" attributed to the wolf.
326 animals were killed.
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The state farmers' association reported that 83 grazing animals have already been attacked by wolves this year. There is also an unreported figure, which the association considers 50 percent to be “not excessive”. Together with five other associations, including sheep and goat breeders and horse owners, the farmers are planning an online event on Thursday on the question of how to go on with grazing animals and wolves.
According to the farmers' association, it must be precisely defined how many wolves there can be in Saxony, said spokeswoman Diana Henke.
Also wolf-free zones should be considered.
The effort that animal owners would have to put into protective measures is extremely high.
This raises the question of profitability.
Breeders are compensated for animals that are torn by wolves, but the effort, especially the bureaucratic one, is enormous.
The spread of wolves is monitored in Saxony.
A biological wolf year is measured, which begins on May 1st and ends on April 30th.
According to the Wolf department, there were 28 packs and 3 pairs in 2019/20.
Final figures for the monitoring year 2020/21 are not yet available.
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Wolves in Saxony