Germany Approves First-Ever Gold Jackal Shooting on Sylt Island
Gold jackals, a species spreading across Europe, have reached Germany's Sylt island. The state environmental agency granted a permit to shoot one, the first such action in the country. Animal rights group PETA has called for the animal's relocation to the mainland.
Gold jackals, weighing about ten kilograms, are larger than foxes but smaller than wolves. They hunt at night in family groups and have been spreading across Europe, with an estimated 150,000 compared to about 23,000 wolves. While they pose no danger to humans, they can threaten smaller livestock like sheep.
Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) approved the shooting permit due to concerns about livestock damage, ground-nesting birds, and the importance of sheep farming for coastal protection. The animal, protected under the Federal Nature Conservation Act, is not regularly huntable in Germany. This marks the first confirmed shooting of a gold jackal in the country.
The gold jackal, a generalist species adapting to various habitats, has been spreading largely unnoticed in Germany. The planned shooting on Sylt, due to suspected sheep killings, has sparked a call from PETA for the animal's relocation to the mainland.
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