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Wolves kill horse for the first time in the Stade district – excitement in Kutenholz!
For the first time, wolves were spotted killing a horse in the Stade district. Details about the incident and the required herd protection.
Wolves kill horse for the first time in the Stade district – excitement in Kutenholz!
An alarming incident was reported in the Stade district, near Hamburg, on Friday last week: For the first time, a pack of wolves killed a horse there. You can find out from the reporting by District newspaper weekly. The affected herd consisted of eleven young breeding horses that were standing in a pasture on the outskirts of Mulsum. A three-year-old Hanoverian gelding did not survive the attack.
The incident happened the night the breeder Dietrich Bargsten discovered the terrible scenario on Friday morning: the pasture was empty, the other horses were partly injured but alive and clearly showing stress. The dead man was found in a drainage ditch with his backside protruding. Traces in the area indicate that the wolves got under an electric fence. The hunters confirmed that DNA traces were taken for further analysis.
Herd protection and regional challenges
The situation is causing those responsible to think about regionally differentiated inventory management. Christoph Wilkens from Landvolk Stade comments on the situation as dramatic and underlines the need for measures to ensure the safety of grazing animals. According to the state hunters' association, 100 attacks on farm animals were documented in Lower Saxony as a whole, including 14 on horses. There are currently 59 wolf packs registered in Lower Saxony. Here you can see that the return of wolves to the areas is not without challenges for animal husbandry.
The behavior of horses towards wolves has often been described as friendly when livestock guard dogs are nearby. Horses interpret dogs' behavior and use it as an indicator of possible danger. Studies show that well-socialized dogs can integrate well into the daily operations of a horse farm, as by Country and forest is reported. The future of horses in areas with wolves depends not only on the animals themselves, but also on the quality of herd protection.
There is great excitement among horse owners and the incident could have far-reaching consequences. Breeder Bargsten calls for consequences and has repeatedly reported sightings of up to four wolves at the same time in Mulsum. The incident could prove to be a turning point in the discussion about wolves and animal husbandry, particularly when it comes to ensuring the protection of grazing animals while protecting the interests of nature.