The incident happened on Friday in the village of Haava, just north of the city of Tartu. It has raised concerns with local residents about the safety of pets and even people.

"When wolves move around and attack in the immediate vicinity of homes, it is important that local residents are aware of this and that authorities pay attention to the situation," the owner of the dog told Maaleht, adding he has been spreading the word of warning.

The dog that died was a German hunting terrier. It had been kept in a kennel next to a home during the day and, the owner said, brought into the house at night. While the dog was there when the owner checked at 6.30 p.m., half an hour later the animal was gone, with only bloody tracks trailing off into the forest suggesting what might have happened.

While the kennel was not far from the living room window, in an area with constant human activity, those inside heard nothing during the attack itself.

The dog owner noted a trend towards and are not afraid of people, buildings, lights and other human activity and so may also be bold enough to make such attacks.

While the owner and some other hunters the next day found the wolves likely responsible, hunting quotas meant that they could only shoot one animal, even as the wolf population has been "allowed to get completely out of hand," he said.

A similar attack a fortnight earlier had led to the death of a pet dachshund, just in the short time it had been allowed out into the yard to relieve itself, Maaleht reported.

The Environmental Board, responsible for cull quotas, has hiked the figure to 130 from its earlier total of 112. This mainly focuses on central Estonia, where most of the damage has been reported, while as of January 2, 55 out of that total had been culled.

The additional culling does not endanger the maintenance of the wolf's favorable conservation status within the understanding of the EU Habitats Directive.

Tanel Türna, head of the board's hunting and aquatic life bureau, said the board has revised its figure for the number of known wolf litters in mainland Estonia upwards, from 25 set in the fall, to 29 at present, though this is considerably down on the 39 estimated in 2023. A legal challenge to this season's cull failed. Last year, the season's start was postponed to the end of the year due to a similar appeal. Wolf hunting season runs from the end of October to February the following year.

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