TV column “Markus Lanz”: Farmer wants to shoot wolves and feels “turned from victim into perpetrator”

The wolf has been back in Germany for more than 20 years, after being considered extinct for almost 150 years. On “Markus Lanz”, farmer Christian Lohmeyer railed against the failure of politics and made it clear how threatening the situation is.

The wolf population is steadily increasing, particularly in the northeast of the country. In the meantime, over 1,300 sedentary wolves have been identified. While this is a great development for animal rights activists, farmers are sounding the alarm. One of them: Christian Lohmeyer.

At “Markus Lanz”, the talk guest described the dramatic situation for German grazing animals and made it clear why, in his view, the legal shooting of wolves was urgently necessary. “You can’t imagine how many times I’ve been warned about the show,” explained Lohmeyer in an interview with Lanz. In doing so, he made it clear how polarizing the wolf issue seems to be in the country.

Farmer at Lanz: “The limit of what we can endure”

However, the farmer is of the opinion that those affected should speak out more to point out the many grievances and potential dangers. “Why is the discussion so heated?” Lanz wanted to know at the beginning of the program. The former amateur shepherd Christian Lohmeyer then talked himself into a rage and criticized the fact that the protection of his herd animals was “hardly possible to implement in practice”.

“We have a problem, we have to discuss it,” emphasized Lohmeyer, who also explained that he had stopped raising sheep after discovering countless dead animals that had been killed by wolves at his neighbor’s house. “No normal person goes through this,” said the farmer, describing the catastrophic conditions in his community in Lower Saxony.

He spoke of “live animals with their bellies hanging out” and commented angrily: “These brutal images do not exist in any stable and they do not exist in any slaughterhouse. That’s really the limit of what we can endure.” The reality, Lomeyer continued, is unfortunately “so cruel that I’m honestly ashamed that in this country, where we pay so much attention to animal welfare, we just do it like that let it happen.”

Veterinarian: “There are cases of rabies”

Markus Lanz then carefully asked whether wolves usually stop in front of people. Veterinarian Dr. Barbara Seibert assured that wolves are more afraid of humans than the other way around. There are “more attacks by dogs than by wolves”. However, the second talk guest of the evening also noted: “There are cases of rabies.”

The fact that the wolf only “came into the role of evil” through fairy tales and myths did not reassure her counterpart. Christian Lohmeyer revealed that there are now wolf sightings in his village almost every day, which used to be like winning the lottery. “The problem is getting worse every day,” assured Lohmeyer. In such a situation, “you can’t blame anyone” if they have “an uneasy feeling”. Lanz agreed: “When you’re jogging alone across the meadow and suddenly you’re actually standing in front of a wolf. That would give me a little goosebumps down my spine.”

“As a pet owner, you feel as if you are being turned from a victim into a perpetrator.”

For Christian Lohmeyer it is clear that politicians must act immediately. He called for targeted hunting of wolves and explained: “In Germany we now have the highest density of wolves in almost the world – and with such a high number of residents. It’s quite clear that it’s worth it! And for the first time in history, we let the wolf get to us without fighting him off.”

This was countered by Dr. Barbara Seibert shocked: “If you shoot wolves (…), you can assume that new wolves will be there after a year. Wolves migrate.” The veterinarian explained that functioning electric fences and trench protection could provide greater relief.

Lohmeyer promptly countered that this was of no use: “I have spent well over 20,000 euros out of my own pocket to protect my animals.” He concluded by criticizing: “As an animal owner, you feel as if you are being turned from a victim into a perpetrator, even though “You made an incredible effort.”