Hungary: Hobby hunters shot Graubünden wandering wolf

The story of the wandering wolf M237, who was killed in Hungary, has triggered a huge public outcry.

Many people followed the migrations of the strictly protected animal, as the tracking device continuously indicated where the wolf was located and where it was heading in search of a new family.

At the beginning of April 2023, however, the tracking device went silent, and within a very short time it was suspected that the wolf may have died during its journey.

To clarify its fate, the Office for Environmental Crime in Hungary ordered an investigation on 8 April 2023 against an unknown perpetrator on suspicion of the criminal offence of destruction of nature.

Since then, several investigative measures have been taken. Investigators have conducted searches and inspections, gathered evidence and interviewed witnesses. The analysis of the data and information obtained was ongoing and has brought investigators increasingly closer to the suspected perpetrators. Contacts were established with the Swiss authorities to ensure a thorough reconstruction of events and to involve the various authorities concerned in the criminal proceedings.

Hobby hunters are where they belong

Based on the information gathered in the course of the proceedings, investigators have determined that the protected wolf M237 was most likely killed on 1 April 2023 on the outskirts of Hidasnémeti by members of a hunting party. After the animal was killed, the tracking device was cut from the carcass and thrown into the Hernád river. The tracking device was recovered by investigators with the help of divers.

Investigations also revealed that the hobby hunters were aware that the wolf was a protected animal. The authorities have no information regarding the whereabouts of the dead animal.

Both men from Sabol were arrested at dawn on 2 August 2023, one of them with the assistance of the counter-terrorism unit, as he was in possession of a licensed firearm.

The two men were suspected by investigators of having committed acts of destruction of nature, misuse of firearms or ammunition, and other criminal offences, and following their interrogations they were taken into criminal custody and their imprisonment initiated, according to police reports.

Evidently, the Hungarian investigative authorities do not suffer from the same incompetence and inertia as their Swiss counterparts when it comes to the criminal activities of hobby hunters.

Dossier: Wolf in Switzerland: Facts, Politics and the Limits of Hunting