Overview

• The gold jackal has killed nearly 100 sheep and lambs on Sylt since mid-May, threatening the island’s dike-grazing flocks.
• Schleswig-Holstein’s environment ministry issued a one-month exception to federal protections to allow hunters to shoot the normally safeguarded species.
• An emergency appeal by the Naturschutzinitiative has suspended the permit until the administrative court in Schleswig issues its ruling.
• Under Germany’s strict nature conservation law, gold jackals may only be removed in cases of severe agricultural harm or public interest.
• Animal welfare groups have proposed capture and relocation as a nonlethal alternative while biologists warn the invasive species is rapidly expanding across Central Europe.