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Reinhold Messner Fuels South Tyrol Row With Wolf Cull Call, Traffic Curbs

Animal groups condemn his call for killing or sterilising wolves following the EU’s downgrade of the species’ protection status.

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Reinhold Messner legt sich mit Tierschützern an.
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Overview

  • Messner named traffic chaos, influencer-driven tourism and wolves as the chief problems in South Tyrol and urged lethal or sterilisation measures for wolves.
  • He proposed shuttle-only access and motorcycle bans on busy Dolomite passes such as the Tre Cime to ease congestion from record visitor numbers.
  • LNDC Animal Protection and the group Io Non Paura del Lupo denounced his position as misleading, arguing coexistence is feasible with herd protection and compensation.
  • Regional authorities documented dozens of confirmed livestock attacks in Obervinschgau and authorised targeted removals, including a wolf killed on August 12 after a July 30 order.
  • The EU shifted the wolf’s status from strictly protected to protected on July 14, and experts estimate roughly 80 wolves in South Tyrol with herd-protection limits in high-alpine terrain.