Gold jackal on Sylt: Germany's first shot after lamb cracks!

Gold jackal on Sylt: Germany's first shot after lamb cracks!

Sylt, Deutschland - on Sylt, a new player in the wild animal landscape causes excitement. The gold jackal, a species that has become increasingly unnoticed in Germany, is now actively hunted. The whole thing did not just happen: a gold jackal has already torn numerous lambs in the past few weeks, which has led to an extraordinary decision. The State Office for the Environment in Schleswig-Holstein gave a special protection permit for the shooting. This would be the first confirmed shooting of a gold jack in Germany, such as Radio Köln reported.

Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt from the Greens supports this measure for a good reason. He listed several reasons: On the one hand, further damage to farm animals must be prevented, on the other hand there is a risk to floor breeders. In addition, the dike headline plays an important role in coastal protection. These measures are necessary because gold jackals are so particularly protected that they can normally not be hunted regularly.

The current situation on Sylt

The situation escalated dramatically on the night of June 6, 2025, when a gold jackal immediately injured two lambs and killed one. These incidents are not even isolated, because since May 19th more than 90 confirmed cracks have been documented. In addition, a sheep holder has observed the gold jackal with a night vision device and informed the hunters, but so far no shot on the animal has been liked, as [https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/regional/schleswigholstein/goldschakal-auf-sylt-Ssylt-100.html).

The approval for the shooting was decided in cooperation with several nature conservation associations. Manfred Uekermann, deputy district hunter, admits that it will be a challenge to find the shy gold jackal because it is nocturnal and extremely sensitive to odors. By July 31, 2025, the general disposal for shooting remains valid, and 20 to 30 active hunters from the Hegering Sylt will take part in the hunt.

gold jackal - a new phenomenon in Germany

The history of the gold jackal is also interesting. Originally native to North Africa, Southeast Europe and East Asia, the gold jackal has successfully established itself in Germany since 1997 and has now widened. It is estimated that around 150,000 gold jackals now live in Europe, while the Wolf population is around 23,000. Gold jackals are generalists and use different habitats, which allows you to find your way around in very different regions, such as [National Geographic] (https://www.nationalgeographic.de/tiere/2022/deutschland-hat-neues-jahrtier-jahchs- von-goldschakal-in-zwei- Bundeslaender) explained to us.

A remarkable aspect is the so -called “Surplus Killing”: a gold 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, which has catastrophic consequences for the Schäfer. A dike header is even compensated for her loss with 15,000 euros.

The gold jackal is considered harmless to humans, but represents a serious threat to pasture and farm animals. In order to monitor the increase in such incidents, active monitoring could be sensible in order to be able to react better to the needs of animal populations and protective measures. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop on Sylt and in other parts of Germany.