Only four mouflons were shot in Brandenburg last year, in a sharp sign of the species’ decline

Hunters in Brandenburg shot only four mouflons last year, according to official hunting statistics published by the state agriculture ministry. The state hunting association partly attributes the decline of the wild sheep to the spread of wolves. Tagesspiegel reports that the species is effectively on the brink of disappearing from the region.

Mouflons are not native to Brandenburg. The Mediterranean wild sheep were introduced there for hunting. The published figure records animals shot by hunters, rather than providing a complete census of the population. Still, a total of four points to a steep fall in hunting numbers and adds to concern about the species’ future in the state.

The number of animals shot is not a direct census of all mouflons remaining in Brandenburg. It does, however, underscore how rarely the species now appears in the state’s hunting statistics.