The Association for Nature “Wilk” informed about Lego's death. “25 August in the Tuchola Forest an adult male wolf was shot illegally. It happened on the territory of hunting district no. 266, leased by the 'Cyranka' Hunting Association from Starogard Gdański” – I'm writing organization.
The dead wolf had been wearing a telemetry collar for over a year, fitted by scientists from the University of Gdańsk. Thanks to this, it was discovered that the wolf had been illegally killed and the body was found. It is also known that the male had been raising pups this year.
Reward for finding the perpetrator
As reported by the association, the research team is offering a reward of PLN 10,000 for identifying the perpetrator. The services have been notified of the case.
Killing a strictly protected animal is a crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison. However, practice shows that perpetrators often go unpunished because they cannot be found. The association reports that this is the ninth wolf among those they have tracked using telemetry that has been shot illegally.
In 2021, the prosecutor's office discontinued the investigation into the killing of a wolf near Morąg. The WWF Poland organization later filed a complaint against this decision and pointed out that the investigators had not done everything they could, including:in.they failed to identify the ammunition with which the wolf was killed.
Those wolves whose deaths are confirmed are only a small part of those killed. Research by Dr. Hab. Sabina Pierużek-Nowak, the president of the association, shows that in Poland at least 140 wolves are killed with firearms every year. In those cases where the perpetrator is found, it is most often hunters.
“This practice has intensified since mid-2017, when the then Minister of the Environment introduced the possibility of year-round night hunting of wild boars using thermal imaging and night vision devices. These devices allow for easy identification in the dark of all larger animal species, including wolves”
– writes the association.