'The biggest problem coming for us is the wolf,' says Austrian farmer

Last year, Georg Kaltenhauser, a sixth-generation alp farmer, lost 17 sheep and five goats when a wolf attacked his 50-head flock in the mountains above Hollerbach Valley, in the state of Salzburg, Austria

While he received compensation, the 71-year-old organic farmer says the wolf – a strictly protected species under EU law – has become “a major threat” in the area, with small-scale producers increasingly reluctant to put their stock on the alps for the summer period – a long-held tradition in the district of Zell am See.

Speaking at his farm, named Scharreralm, located in the beautiful panoramic Hohe Tauern National Park some 1,200m above sea level, the father-of-three said:

“We raise our cattle and sheep down on the farm, and we put them on the alp to help them – it is not the idea to bring them up there to have them killed by the wolf.

“My family decided to try it once again this year, but if the wolf comes back, we’re not going to put them on the alp anymore. A little bit down the valley where the city of Mittersill is [population: approx. 5,400 people], they’re not bringing sheep on their alps anymore.”

Predator control

Asked of the prospects for predator control, such as a dog, to safeguard his 370ha of steep alpine pastures where his stock out-summer, Georg, who along with his wife Angelika also runs a second farm nearby comprised of 24ha of lowland meadows alongside a thriving farm tourism business, says he gets “really annoyed” by this topic.

“Herd protection up here is not possible. How shall I protect my sheep or cows from a wolf on these huge slopes? Yes, it’s beautiful, but there are lots of rivers, rocks, and gorges here, so it’s impossible to protect the entire area; we couldn’t finance it either.

“We’re also in a tourist region. Farmers would have big problems if a protection dog bit a hiker or biker. This could easily happen because these are sharp dogs, not like those on your sofa.

“Yes, I can stop having sheep; that is not an economic problem for me, but when there are no sheep left on the alp, the wolf will start to attack our calves, young cattle, and our milking cows up there.

“There is only one solution; we must keep this area wolf-free,” he says.

In Salzburg, the regional government can provide permits for shooting wolves when they attack livestock or come into an area where it’s not possible to build a fence.

Although the Kaltenhauser’s alpine farm meets this requirement, barriers remain, meaning Georg’s stock – which includes rare breed Pinzgauer cattle crossed a little with the Red Friesian, a dual-purpose breed for milk and meat – stays at risk of roaming packs.

“There were no wolves here for 200 years. The Iron Curtain opened up due to political changes, and since then the wolves are coming from the east. Our hunting law has become very political, so it is not easy to find a solution

.

“There is a big discussion about whether our shooting permits are consistent with European laws, and NGOs are making proposals against them, so nobody is really sure if these permits can be given every year.

“We want to continue the tradition of putting our animals on the alp, but this will not be possible with the wolf. When you bring in the wolf, you get rid of the farmer,” he said.

The wolf, however, is not the only challenge facing Upper Austria’s farmers, as the effects of climate change and other issues regarding local implementation of EU environmental laws – specifically those aimed at balancing nature protection and farming in the national park – are causing conflict too.

Farmers fear these difficulties will jeopardise the region’s status as one of the only agricultural areas in Europe where the number of farmers is increasing – albeit in very low single digits.

Georg continued: “Climate change is happening all around the world, but the most affects can be seen in the high mountains.

Flooding

“Thirty, 40, or 50 years ago, when there was bad weather in the summer, we had snow, not rain. Now there is rainfall up to the highest mountains, even to the Grossglockner, which is 3,800m and is the highest mountain in Austria.

“The effect is that the water is coming immediately and it mixes with the snowmelt, so we now experience very high amounts of water coming down the valleys that before would have been kept in the mountains as snow.

“Our thunderstorms are getting much more extreme too, causing a lot of devastation. In 2022, there was a huge flood. I have my own water power plant down here. The water comes from 1,000m away and goes in through a pipe and runs the plant.

“But the rain was so strong that the river tore down the pipe; we didn’t have any electricity on the farm, and the bridge connecting us to the main road was wiped out.

“Thankfully all our animals survived, but the situation is bringing further problems for our alpine meadows, cities, and villages in the valley every other year.

“We have some protection buildings, but it is not enough. It is necessary to build even more structures.”

However, getting permission for such work is another gripe for producers. Georg is also a hay milk farmer (no silage) and receives 64c/L (August 2024) for his supplies that go into cheese production.

“I’m very lucky that there are still so many dairy farmers and milking cows left in the valley, so the dairy company still sends the lorry here to collect the milk every second day.

“But my pastures are up 3,500m so I still have to get there to care for my animals.

It is a two-hour walk. It would be possible to build a road up there to make it much easier, but it is not possible with the bureaucracy.

“The lawmakers in Brussels don’t really understand how we farm on the milking Alps. The core idea of creating the national park was to protect it by using it.

“A lot of vegetation here only exists because our cows work the ground; if we let that go, then the landscape would be completely different.

“Everyone wants farming to continue; nobody is pushing the farmers out, but it’s getting more and more complicated for us to improve our systems, restore huts, build new roadways, or have cable cars.

We feel that European law does not respect local aspects of our unique landscape and what we need to be able to farm.

Succession

“We are very proud to farm here; my family bought this place in 1823. Almost every farm in the valley has a successor, but there are fears this could change over the coming years.”

Asked about future plans, Georg, highlighted the touristic pillar of their enterprise, where they provide 12 apartments to holidaymakers that seek a traditional farming experience.

“My son is now 30, and he is going to take over the farm.

“The plans are to keep it as it is; he does not intend to make any major changes because at the moment everything fits together.

“We participate in a programme called Holidays on the Farm, which fits perfectly to what we are doing as a family.

“The future is in tourism, but it is still necessary to keep the farm because our customers come to us to make their holidays on a farm; they want to see animals, and they want to see real production.”

The state of Austria and the European Union must reset their laws to allow wolf hunting as a recommendation, according to Michaela Langer-Weninger, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Upper Austria.

While it is permitted to shoot a wolf after an animal attack or when a wolf is spotted near inhabited areas, Minister Langer-Weninger, who is also a farmer, says there is now need to take further steps.

The minister spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal shortly before EU member states, including Austria, voted in favour of lowering the protection status of wolves to achieve a relaxation of the bloc’s strict hunting under the habitat’s directive.

However, conservationist groups have heavily criticised the development.

It follows reports that wolf attacks on livestock increased by 230% to 680 in Austria in 2022.

The minister said: “At the moment it is not allowed in the European Union to hunt the wolf.

“But we have a recommendation for Austria that if there are wolves, if they come to the towns and villages in an area of 10km, you can shoot them, or if they attack sheep or cattle also.

“But this is only when something happens, and that is the big problem that we have.

“So we want that the state of Austria and the European Union will reset the law so we can hunt as a recommendation.

“We need to have further discussions.

“There are 20,000 wolves in the EU, and they have a good status so they reproduce; they are not endangered, and so we have to manage them like other wild animals.”