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Golden jackal on Sylt: Germany's first kill after Lamm-Rissen!
A golden jackal is shot for the first time on Sylt to prevent damage to sheep herds. Environment Minister approved the shooting.
Golden jackal on Sylt: Germany's first kill after Lamm-Rissen!
On Sylt, a new player is causing excitement in the wildlife landscape. The golden jackal, a species that has increasingly spread unnoticed in Germany, is now being actively hunted. The whole thing didn't just happen: a golden jackal has killed numerous lambs in the last few weeks, which led to an extraordinary decision. The State Office for the Environment in Schleswig-Holstein granted an exemption under species protection law for the shooting. This would be the first confirmed shooting of a golden jackal in Germany, as Radio Köln reports.
Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt from the Green Party supports this measure for good reason. He listed several reasons: On the one hand, further damage to livestock must be prevented, and on the other hand, there is a danger to ground-nesting birds. In addition, dike farming plays an important role in coastal protection. These measures are necessary because golden jackals are so specially protected that they cannot normally be hunted regularly.
The current situation on Sylt
The situation escalated dramatically on the night of June 6, 2025, when a golden jackal directly injured two lambs and killed one. These incidents are not even isolated cases, as more than 90 confirmed cracks have already been documented since May 19th. In addition, a sheep farmer observed the golden jackal with a night vision device and informed the hunters, but so far no shot had been fired at the animal, as Tagesschau reports.
The approval for the shooting was decided in collaboration with several nature conservation associations. Manfred Uekermann, deputy district hunter, admits that it will be a challenge to find the shy golden jackal as it is nocturnal and extremely sensitive to smell. The general decree for shooting will remain valid until July 31, 2025, and 20 to 30 active hunters from the Hegering Sylt will take part in the hunt.
Golden jackals – a new phenomenon in Germany
The story of the golden jackal is also interesting. Originally native to North Africa, southeastern Europe and East Asia, the golden jackal has been successfully introduced to Germany since 1997 and has now spread widely. It is estimated that there are now around 150,000 golden jackals living in Europe, while the wolf population is around 23,000. Golden jackals are generalists and use different habitats, which allows them to find their way in very different regions, as National Geographic explains to us.
A notable aspect is the so-called “surplus killing”: a golden jackal can kill a significant number of lambs in one night, which increases the damage enormously. In an incident on Sylt, a total of 46 lambs were killed in a single night, with catastrophic consequences for the shepherds affected. A dike shepherd was even compensated 15,000 euros for her loss.
The golden jackal is considered harmless to humans, but poses a serious threat to grazing and livestock animals. To monitor the increase in such incidents, active monitoring could be useful in order to better respond to the needs of animal populations and protective measures. It remains to be seen how the situation on Sylt and other parts of Germany will develop.