In Vorarlberg

Wolf hit by train was a problem animal

Symbolic image

(Bild: EXPA/ Johann Groder)

The wolf that was hit and killed by a train in Nenzing (Bludenz district) a month ago was no stranger to Vorarlberg: As ORF Radio Vorarlberg reported on Tuesday, citing the provincial wildlife biologist Hubert Schatz, it was the same specimen that had killed 16 wild and farm animals in the province last year. As a result, an initial culling order was issued, which then had to be withdrawn.

According to the autopsy, the wolf that was killed, weighing around 40 kilograms, was two to three years old. In the collision with the train, it suffered several hematomas, bruises and bleeding, to which it eventually succumbed. Christian Gantner (ÖVP), the provincial councillor for agriculture, had described it as a "problem wolf" the previous year; this wolf had also been detected several times in Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria and Carinthia.

The culling order issued by the responsible Vorarlberg authorities after the many kills - the first of its kind in Vorarlberg - was overturned by the provincial administrative court following complaints from the environmental organizations WWF and Ökobüro.

Shooting only by decree
This made no difference insofar as the wolf was no longer sighted. Since a change in the law last November, the Vorarlberg state government can now release "problem wolves" for shooting by decree.

Wildlife biologist Schatz currently assumes that there are a handful of wolves in Vorarlberg. In January, four wild animals were reported killed in Silbertal and the area around Nenzing, but farm animals remained unharmed.