Over 40 sheep were attacked by jackals in Ungheni district last week, representatives of the Hunters’ and Fishermen’s Society of Moldova informed in a news conference on November 2.

Contacted by IPN for details, the head of Ungheni district Gennady Mitriuc said that 22 killed sheep were found in Măgurele village last Thursday. Eleven sheep survived, while another 11 sheep went missing. Representatives of the National Food Safety Agency, the State Ecological Inspectorate, the Police and the local public authorities inspected the scene.

Eyewitnesses said the sheep were attacked by jackals. There is a wood near Măgurele where the wild animals can hide. Reports of the presence of jackals in that area were received last year too. They cannot say where the animals came from, said Gennady Mitriuc.

The representatives of the Hunters’ and Fishermen’s Society of Moldova asked to hasten the approval of the hunting quotas by the Government as the hunting season needs to be opened, also because the jackals kill domestic animals in Ungheni.

Earlier, jackals were also seen in Tabani village of Briceni district, where they attacked flocks of sheep, and in Cahul and Ștefan Vodă districts, where they attacked private farms. The jackals are often mixed up with stray dogs.

Specialists ascertained that the jackals cross the Prut over from Romania, but can also come from Ukraine while in search of prey. The case in Măgurele showed that there are packs of jackals in Moldova’s woods. Usually, the jackals kill pheasants, ducks, fowl, sheep and other animals, both domestic and wild.