Vorarlberg Authorizes Shooting of Wolf in Tschaggun

State Councillor Christian Gantner justified the shooting order with experiences from previous proceedings in which livestock protection measures alone were not sufficient to effectively protect grazing animals. The current order provides that the wolf may be removed in the specifically designated area.

The authorization is based on nature conservation legal provisions that permit the removal of individual wolves when they repeatedly attack livestock and other measures remain unsuccessful. In Vorarlberg, the wolf had only recently become native again after decades of absence.

The hunting authority and the state veterinary service are now coordinating the concrete implementation. It is also to be ensured that the shooting actually concerns the individual animal named in the order and does not result in a broader intervention in the wolf population.

Reactions from Nature Conservation and Agriculture

Criticism is coming from animal welfare and nature conservation circles. Organizations argue that killing does not solve the structural problem—missing pasture fences, unprotected alpine meadows, and the increasing presence of wolves in the densely populated Alpine region. They call for the expansion of livestock protection measures and a transnationally coordinated population management.

The Chamber of Agriculture, on the other hand, welcomes the step as long overdue. Farmers from the region point to the psychological burden on livestock owners, economic damages, and cases in which livestock protection fails due to the topographical conditions of the alpine pastures. Without the possibility of removing individual animals, the argument goes, grazing livestock farming in the mountains is barely sustainable.

The wolf issue also touches on internal political fronts in Vorarlberg: The ÖVP, which is responsible for nature conservation and hunting in the state government, had announced a more restrictive removal policy in recent months. The current order is considered the first application of this line under the current legislative period.

Legal Situation and Possible Steps

Legally, the order is provisionally effective. However, it remains possible that environmental organizations will file legal remedies and have the removal judicially suspended, as has already happened in comparable proceedings in other federal states.

Regardless of the outcome of the individual case, observers see the decision as a signal for the future handling of the wolf throughout the Alpine region. The rising number of attacks, according to expert assessments, will further intensify the question of a nationally uniform regulation and better financial support for livestock protection measures.