As we read on The Bad Bunzlauer:
From yesterday evening’s run. On the map photo, you can see the roundabout toward Łaziska/Bolesławiec (the red “X”)—this is where the dog skeleton was found. I don’t recommend walking alone in the evening in this area. (…) It seems that we have wolves locally.
TBB on the incident
According to some commenters, however, this is not a dog skeleton but a roe deer’s.
As for cases of dogs being killed, such incidents have already occurred in our county. In May 2018, we published some information about why wolves attack dogs and whom such incidents should be reported to. Dr. Sabina Nowak wrote at the time on the website of the Association for Nature “Wolf”:
Dogs are domesticated wolves. These two species can interbreed, which proves that despite the long process of domestication, they differ little genetically. Wolves probably believe that dogs are still wolves. They have no idea that a dog has an owner who feeds and keeps it, and often also feels enormous affection for it. They treat dogs as competitors for territory and food. If dogs are allowed to run loose, they regularly visit nearby forests and leave feces and urine there, especially on wolf droppings and scent markings. They also eat remnants of wolves’ prey. We often see this in recordings from our camera traps. For a local wolf family group, this clearly amounts to marking their territory and an attempt by an outsider to take it over, as well as a threat to their offspring. It is a little like a stranger entering our home, scattering their belongings there, eating food from the refrigerator and making themselves at home in our absence, then disappearing.
A pair of wolf parents protecting their offspring and food resources can easily follow a scent trail to the property where such a dog lives. They can also easily recognize it when they encounter it in the field. That is why cases of local wolves killing dogs in the forest, in fields, and even on private property or beside a kennel are not uncommon.
If a wolf kills a dog, this is not an act of blind aggression but rather the protection of its own resources. For this reason, wolves do not pose a threat to people, because to a wolf, a human is not a competitor in the environment.
Cases of dogs being aggressive toward other dogs, as well as dogs attacking farm animals, are frequently observed. Unfortunately, in such situations wolves are most often blamed for the death of a dog or the killing of livestock. It is not true that only homeless or stray dogs pose a threat, since animals with owners may also be responsible for such incidents. Dogs living next door to one another may have such intense antagonisms that they kill each other. Genetic tests of saliva collected from the wounds of mauled or dead dogs also indicate this.
Moreover, in the natural environment—and now even near buildings—dogs can be killed by wild boar, including sows defending their offspring. They can bite severely and even kill a dog when they or their offspring are threatened.
I do not believe that wolves killing dogs pose a threat to people, so there is probably no need to raise the alarm and cause panic in areas where such incidents occur. However, all dog owners should know that Polish law prohibits letting dogs run loose in the forest. Dogs—even beloved lapdogs—can be very efficient killers of wild animals, roe deer and even deer calves. Scientific research proves this. It should also be remembered that by letting a dog run loose in the forest, we expose it to danger from the wild animals living there.
What should you do if a wolf has already killed your dog?
As reported by Gmina Bolesławiec:
[…] The State Treasury is liable for damage caused by species under legal protection, including wolves.
- The Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Wrocław must be notified immediately of the damage incurred; the director conducts an inspection, assesses the damage, and determines the amount and payment of compensation.
- The injured party must prove that the damage was caused by wolves. In addition, several rules should be remembered, including:
- the killed animal must not be removed before the people conducting the inspection arrive
- all traces of the incident must be secured
- if possible, photographic documentation should be made of the killed animal and other traces within the incident area (tracks, drag marks left by prey, feces), as well as of the incident site itself and the security measures used, such as fencing.
The damage should also be reported to a veterinarian, who may determine the cause of death of the affected animal, prepare a description of the condition of the carcass and provide other valuable information facilitating the proper consideration of the compensation claim, as well as to representatives of hunting associations and the forest district, who may search the site for predator tracks or other characteristic signs of their presence and inspect the carcass.- Compensation is not available if damage caused by wolves occurred between sunset and sunrise while the animals were left without direct supervision. In disputes concerning the amount of compensation for damage caused, among others, by wolves, ordinary courts have jurisdiction
- The injured party should submit a compensation claim together with the necessary attachments listed in the application. Compensation covers the market price of the killed animal, the costs of disposing of the carcass and transporting it to the nearest carcass-disposal company, the cost of a veterinarian’s visit to confirm the animal’s death, and treatment costs, based on the submitted receipts.