The fate of the wolf who killed von der Leyen’s pony will be decided today – POLITICO

In the next few hours it will be decided whether the wolf that killed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s pony will survive.

The administrative court in Hanover had banned the hunting of 950m GW, as the wolf is called, on Friday until further notice. The reason, according to the court, was an urgent request filed by the Society for the Protection of Wolves against the shooting permit.

However, on Tuesday the court partially overturned its interim decision, again allowing the hunting – and killing – of 950 million GW, a spokesman for the Hannover region confirmed.

“In view of the large number of cattle slaughters in the greater Burgdorf region, which could be (genetically) attributed to the specific wolf, the damage prognosis of the Hannover region is not objectionable,” the court said in a statement, adding that “in the future, this wolf will be expected to kill grazing animals.

There is no obvious reasonable alternative to killing the wolf, the court added. Wolves are a protected species in Europe, but governments allow their removal under special circumstances.

However, the filming permit – which was exceptionally approved by the region, as POLITICO reports – expires at the end of Tuesday. A new permit has already been applied for, a spokesperson for the Hanover region said on Tuesday, but must first be examined in detail in a completely new procedure.

The authority would not provide information about who made the request or about the examination procedure.

This means that, for now, the wolf can only be put down on Tuesday. From midnight, GW950m will become a free wolf again.

An online petition called for the immediate revocation of the license to hunt the wolf. “These are not numbers, but individuals!” he said, adding that GW950m and its companion have been given the names “Snowy” and “Zora” by conservationists.

At press time, the petition had over 36,500 signatures.

After the court ruling, the initiator of the petition, Cian Lösch, a wolf conservation activist, said: “This is terrible news. We stay tuned and hope we can save him and other wolves.