Finnish conservation group offers bounty to catch wolf poacher
A wolf conservation group is offering 1,000 euros for information leading to the arrest of a poacher who killed a wolf in Nakkila. The association, Suomen Susi, said it has already received a few tips concerning the wolf, which was shot dead in the southwestern Finnish town last weekend.
“We have forwarded the tips to the police,” Carina Lintula, the group’s chair, said.
The wolf had been killed with a single bullet before the start of the hunting season. Lintula is confident that someone in the area knows the culprit because hunting circles are small. However, hunters are also very loyal to each other, she added.
”It’s not easy to rat on a buddy and keep on living in the same town,” Lintula said.
It’s likely this code of silence that has undermined the success of previous similar campaigns by Suomen Susi – including one in eastern Finland in 2015 after an entire pack of wolves disappeared.
“Nonetheless, we will continue to offer rewards,” Lintula said. “[The campaigns] also serve as a message to young hunters that poaching is not right.”
Tips to police, but no new leads
The illicitly-culled wolf belonged to a four-member pack, which was photographed by a game camera at the Lintujärvi feeding area last week.
Detective Inspector Minna Vuori said the Southwestern Finland Police have received several tips concerning the dead wolf, but none have led to new leads in the investigation.
“The carcass has been sent to the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira), which will take several weeks to examine it,” Vuori says.
Police are investigating the case as an aggravated hunting offence.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: From the Arctic to Atlantic, a photographer documents seal hunting in Canada, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Villages in western Finland concerned by jump in wolf population, Yle News
Norway: Will Russia ask Norway to cut crab fishing in Arctic fjord?, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia plans fenced parks to confine reindeer herding in Arctic, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Poachers suspected behind dwindling wolf numbers in Sweden, Radio Sweden
United States: Trump admin pushes for looser rules on predator hunting in Alaska, Alaska Public Media
