Court overturns authorization to shoot wolves

Criticism of protective measures: Environmental association lodges appeal

An environmental association based in Lower Saxony had lodged an appeal against the decision and sought interim legal protection before the Dresden Administrative Court. In their view, the decision was unlawful because, among other things, reasonable herd protection measures had not been sufficiently examined and alternatives to culling had not been considered.

The court followed this argument. The exceptional authorization was already unlawful due to insufficient certainty, according to the chamber. It was not clear to which specific spatial area the permission to shoot referred. The order was also likely to be inadmissible on substantive law grounds. According to the Saxon Wolf Management Ordinance, it must be proven, among other things, that a wolf has overcome reasonable protective measures twice within two weeks and injured or killed animals in the process.