On Monday morning this week, a horse owner found his pony bloody and skinned in Borris Hede, West Jutland in Denmark.
It reports avisa B.T.
The pony, which had previously grazed with 60 other ponies, was lying with its stomach ripped open in a huge pool of blood when the owner came running in shock.
Strangers say: – What has happened?
DNA tests
The main theory is that the pony has been eaten by a wolf, the newspaper continues.
BT states that six Shetland ponies were attacked by wolves in 2019, and that in that case it will be the second time such an attack has taken place in Denmark.
– That a wolf attacks ponies is rare, says Lasse Jensen of Denmark’s Environmental Directorate, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, to BT
Avisa has spoken to the owner of the dead pony, who does not want to comment on the case beyond the fact that he thinks it is “very morbid and sad”.
Jens Henrik Jakobsen from the Nature Agency in West Jutland traveled to the farm to examine the carcass. He took DNA samples to be able to confirm what kind of animal is behind it.
– We wait and see what the tests show before we draw a conclusion, he says to the newspaper.
32 wolf attacks
In 2022, Jakobsen was contacted to investigate killed livestock a total of 68 times. In 32 of the cases, it was confirmed by DNA testing that it was a wolf attack.
BT writes that it was largely lambs and sheep that were killed, in addition to a couple of cows and some goats.
– It is important to clarify that wolves do not feed on livestock, but primarily on deer game. For example, they find sick deer to feed on, says Jensen from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
He emphasizes that farm animals are usually allowed to go in peace, and says there is no cause for concern for other farm owners. He also says that there are safe solutions to protect your animals from wolves, such as wolf-proof fences.
Jensen nevertheless adds that they “can sometimes come across livestock on their way”.
Guests “Dr. Phil”: – Reveals the “evidence”
Behind few attacks
The World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF, confirms that deer game constitutes a large part of the wolf’s food. However, it also takes beavers, livestock and carrion – in addition to salmon, they write on their website.
I 2014 ble to Shetland ponies killed and eaten by wolves in Sweden. However, there have been no reports of similar cases since then, neither there nor in this country.
Wolf attacks are a hot topic every year in Norway, especially during hunting season. 38 wolves were reported shot or killed in the 2021/2022 hunting year, according to Statistics Norway (SSB).
There is often heated debate about wolves. Photo: Scanpix.
sea view
Furthermore, the wolf accounted for 9.7 per cent of the recorded attacks on sheep by predators in Norway. It therefore accounts for only a few percent of sheep loss, we are to believe SSB, in contrast to wolverines, which were behind 41.9 percent of predator attacks. Lynx then came as the cause of 23 percent of the losses.
In the same year, compensation was paid for a total of 1,409 sheep and lambs after losses to wolves.
