Ore Mountains: Two wolves poached, suspect said to have boasted about the kills
A 44-year-old man is alleged to have shot the female and the male wolf in the area of the Fláje game enclosure near Most and hidden them. He faces up to three years in prison.
Illustrative image. Photo: Robin Strahl / Unsplash
“Wolf Song”
In the Czech part of the Ore Mountains, police say they have solved the killing of two wolves. A 44-year-old man is alleged to have shot a female wolf and a male wolf in the area of the Fláje game enclosure near Most and hidden the bodies in the forest. Police are pursuing him for poaching and the unlawful handling of protected species.
What the police say
According to a statement from the police of the Ústí nad Labem Region dated 2 November, the two wolves were deliberately shot and hidden in undergrowth so that no one would find them. The crime only came to light months later. Detectives from the economic crime department solved the case, according to police, through investigative work and the examination of remains found at the scene. The examination confirmed that they were wolves. The news agency dpa gives January to April as the time of the offence, as the Volksstimme.
According to dpa, investigators also got onto the suspect's trail because he is said to have boasted about the kills. During a house search, police seized several legally owned firearms along with ammunition. If convicted, the 44-year-old faces up to three years in prison. The presumption of innocence applies until a final verdict.
Strictly protected, yet shot
In the Czech Republic, the wolf is classed as a critically endangered species. According to dpa, 350 to 400 wolves currently live in the country. The published information does not make clear whether the two slain wolves belonged to the same pack or had bred.
Analysis: Legal weapons seized
The police confiscated several legally owned firearms and ammunition from the accused. The published details do not make clear whether the weapon used in the crime was among them, or whether the man held a hunting licence. According to the dpa report, his alleged boasting put investigators on his trail. The police also cite the evaluation of tips and the examination of the remains that were found as important steps in clearing up the case.
Wild beim Wild covers another case in the article «Criminal Complaint: Recreational Hunter Kills Wolf». Further cases can be found in the section Crime & hunting.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In the dossier Poaching and hunting crime in Switzerland we document cases, legal questions and recurring patterns. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
Wild animals need a voice
Once a week: research, petitions and background information on recreational hunting. Free of charge and can be unsubscribed from at any time.
All articles are written by IG Wild beim Wild as well as by external co-authors. Research, structuring and editorial processes may be supported by AI-assisted tools.
Support our work
With your donation you help protect animals and give their voice a hearing.
Donate now →
