For the first time in 124 years, traces of wolves were found and confirmed on Luxembourgish soil on 1 September 2017. At that time, the forest and wildlife administration handed out pamphlets describing the animal as evasive and shy of human contact, and advised how to behave in case of an encounter.
Nonetheless, every time a farm animal is found dead, fingers are immediately pointed at the ominous wolf. In 2017, suspicions in a case even lead to an autopsy being performed on a dead rabbit. However, DNA analysis indicated that a dog had been the culprit.
There was another recent incident that help grow suspicions about the return of the wolf. At the end of April 2020, several sheep were found dead in Niederanven. The analytical process in this case confirmed the presence of a wolf in Luxembourg.
This conclusion had been made by the Senckenberg Research Institute, which further relayed that the wolf had originally come from a more central European region. In 2017, analyses from the same institute had also confirmed a wolf presence in Germany, which had come from the Italian Alpes.
It thus concludes that several wolves must have crossed the Grand Duchy in recent years. The issue will be discussed on Wednesday morning by the commission of agriculture and environment.
