More wolves can be culled after Supreme Court decision

Radio Sweden
Posted: Saturday, December 31, 2016 at 00:46 — Last Updated: Thursday, January 5, 2017 at 14:57
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Recent attacks on domestic animals in northern Sweden has led to politicians authorizing a protective hunt through August 20, 2015. (iStock) — People in many areas of Sweden say wolf hunts are possible, and even necessary, given the size of the wolf population. (iStock)

A cull of 24 wolves will be allowed from 2nd January 2017, after a Swedish court decision this week, which ends a series of appeals by environmental groups.

The president of the Swedish Carnivore Association is disappointed by the Supreme Administrative Court decision. Torbjörn Nilsson says to news agency TT that this will be a brake on the necessary wolf population increase.

But speaking to Radio Sweden, researcher Olof Liberg says the wolves are allowed to be hunted because the population is in good shape. There are between 400 and 500 wolves in Scandinavia, mostly in Sweden, and even if 24 wolves are culled, the number will still rise overall.

The right to hunt wolves is allowed under EU law because Sweden’s wolves have so-called Favorable Conservation Status, based on estimates made by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

But the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, the country’s biggest green organisation, comments on today’s judgement by saying evidence of problems including inbreeding in Swedish wolves shows that should not have this favourable status, and therefore the amount of wolves who can be hunted should be very low.