Hunters protest single wolf kill in Sweden
Locals hunters refuse to kill the wolf that has killed dozens of sheep in the area, despite getting the go-ahead by the county’s Administrative Board.
The hunters claim that killing just one wolf isn’t enough, Swedish Radio News reports.
It was last week that the Administrative Board in Dalarna authorized a protective hunt in the “Gimmen” area, in an attempt to put a stop to the recent wolf attacks that have plagued the area.
But even though the hunt has been given the go-ahead, it still hasn’t started. Local hunters are currently protesting the Administrative Board’s decision to only let them kill one wolf, claiming that they would need to kill at least three.
“Sometimes you have to expand the hunt for it to be efficient”, says Thomas Björklund, head of the Hunters Association in Dalarna.
Losses mounting
Susan Tollman, one of the residents in the area, has lost over 50 sheep in wolf attacks the past few years, and she agrees with Björklund.
“They teach one another to kill sheep. The mother and father wolf have taught their pups to hunt here, so even if you kill one wolf, they will come back,” Tollman says.
The hunters have appealed the decision to the National Environmental Protection Agency, but Ingela Hiltula at the Environmental Protection Agency doubts that they will change the Administrative Board’s decision.
“So far, we’ve found the Administrative Board’s decision very well-founded”, she tells Swedish Radio News.
The final decision is due in two weeks.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Nunavut gets EU exemption for seal products, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Rare white elk judged fair game in Finland, protected in Sweden, Yle News
Norway: Rapid growth in Svalbard walrus population, Barents Observer
Sweden: Appeal filed to prevent wolf hunt in northern Sweden, Radio Sweden
United States: Airlines’ new hunting trophy rules worry Alaskans, Alaska Dispatch News
