A Year of Investigations:

Case involving a poached wolf has been dropped

109 suspected wolf sightings or attacks have been reported in Upper Austria this year.(Bild: AP/David Goldman)

Many wolves have already disappeared from Upper Austria; one often hears the three words “shoot, shovel, and keep quiet” to ensure that illegal killings remain hidden. A year ago, a poached wolf was discovered in the Mühlviertel region; until now, the investigation had focused on a hunter. However, the case has now been dropped.

The autopsy was conclusive: The wolf, which had been found on December 11 of last year in a wooded area in the Freistadt district near the Czech border, had been killed by a bullet. Since it was not authorized for hunting, the police investigated the case as animal cruelty and poaching.

Ammunition Seized
Authorities quickly identified a hunter as a suspect, and during a search of his home, ammunition was seized for comparison with the bullet found in the wolf. The investigation lasted nearly a year, but the Linz District Attorney’s Office has now dropped the case. “The fatal shot could not be definitively attributed to any specific person,” explained agency spokesperson Florian Roitner in response to a query from *Krone*. Thus, the shooting—it was the first poached wolf found in Upper Austria—remains unsolved.

Twelve shooting orders so far
Since the introduction of the Wolf Management Ordinance on July 1, 2023, two wolves have been legally hunted in Upper Austria—both in the same year. Since then, all ten other predators authorized for culling as “risk” or “pest” wolves—three of them this year—have managed to evade hunters. The wolf population in Upper Austria is estimated at about 40 animals; the hotspot is in the Mühlviertel region, where there are four packs.