Golden jackal on Sylt may no longer be hunted
There will be no extension of the exemption permit for hunting the golden jackal responsible for killing nearly 80 lambs on Sylt.
The golden jackal on Sylt, held responsible for killing nearly 80 lambs, may no longer be hunted as of 1 August 2025.
A corresponding general decree granting an exemption permit has expired, as the State Office for the Environment announced on Thursday in Kiel.
Because there have been no sightings and no kill incidents in recent weeks, the exemption permit will not be extended. Thewild animal had, according to the State Office for the Environment, killed 76 lambs on Sylt within a matter of days in May.
State of emergency due to predator
To protect the dyke shepherding on the island — which is important, among other things, for coastal protection — an exemption permit was therefore issued at the beginning of June for the shooting of the normally strictly protected predator. Hobbyhunters on the North Sea island would have been permitted to shoot the jackal on sight since then.
However, a few days after the permit was granted, an objection was filed with the court — thehunt was therefore suspended for the time being. The Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court ruled in June, however, that the permit was lawful.
In July, the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Administrative Court confirmed the exemption rule. For this reason, hunting was permitted to continue. The general decree was limited until 31 July.
From fox to wolf: the golden jackal
Golden jackals are strictly protected and may not normally be hunted. According to the state ministry, exceptions are only possible in special cases under strict conditions.
Golden jackals are larger than foxes, but significantly smaller than wolves. Their original range extends from Southeast Asia to Southeast Europe; however, for several decades they have also been spreading into Central Europe.
In Germany, an animal was first documented in 2017. Like foxes, the nocturnal golden jackals typically live in small family groups. They are adaptable omnivores that feed on smaller to medium-sized mammals, birds, insects, carrion, and berries. Genetic samples confirmed that a golden jackal had killed the lambs on Sylt.
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