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MARK CARWARDINE OPINION
BBC Wildlife
|April 2023
"As grey wolf numbers increase, there is a rising tide of hostility"
THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has taken a sudden interest in wolves and it doesn’t bode well for the future of Europe’s top predators.
Last September, one of the hapless carnivores apparently killed her favourite pony, 30-year-old Dolly, near her home in north-west Germany. And wolves have been a hot topic of conversation in the EU ever since.
Genetic testing indicated that a wolf known as GW9s50m an older male reputedly responsible for killing a dozen sheep and cows was the culprit. Von der Leyen countered by ordering officials to carry out an in-depth analysis into the wolf menace’ across the EU.
Meanwhile, a bounty was placed on GW950m’s head. The authorities in Hannover claim they had already approved it the day before Dolly was killed.
This story is from the April 2023 edition of BBC Wildlife.
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