NORWAY, FINLAND AND SWEDEN TO CULL WOLF POPULATION; CONSERVATION GROUPS OPPOSE MOVE

Sun 16 January 2022:

Several European countries, including Finland, Norway, and Sweden, are culling wolves to keep their populations under control. While Swedish hunters have already killed 27 wolves, more than half of their annual target, Finland’s first “population management cull” will allow the death of 20 wolves.

In Sweden, the 395 population estimates for the year 2020-21 have now come down to 300, says wildlife groups. Magnus Orrebrant, chair of an NGO said, “Sweden has promised the EU we should not go below 300 – that’s the bare minimum. We have informed the EU that 300 is way too low. We have habitat that could house more than 1,000 wolves.”

Norway, on the other hand, will kill about 60 per cent of its wolves this winter. In Norway, 5 per cent of the country is considered a wolf protection zone. Even after this, 25 wolves will be killed inside the protection zone this winter.

Wildlife groups in Finland and Sweden have appealed to the European Commission and the European court of justice to declare the wolf culls illegal but both national governments maintain that derogations from the habitats directive allow for legal culls.

In Norway, Martinsen called on other European countries “to intervene and file complaints with the Bern Convention so we can stop this situation where Norway is leading the way to tolerating an extinction policy and making these conventions not worth the paper they are written on”.

In a report by The Guardian, Siri Martinsen, chief executive of an animal rights group said, “Its a horrific situation. Norway’s wolf management is out of control and they are just shooting wolves because some people don’t like them. It is outrageous to hold a species at a critically endangered level.”

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