Sweden began its annual wolf hunt this week, allowing nearly 10% of the endangered species population to be killed, as conservationists raise concerns about the controversial policy. <\/p>\n
Since 2010, Sweden has allowed wolves to be hunted on a licensed quota basis. Conservationists say this goes against European Union law and have filed complaints with the EU Commission, which has previously said it is assessing Sweden\u2019s compliance. <\/p>\n
Hunted to the point of extinction by the 1970s, wolves have gradually returned to the northern European country, aided by EU conservation legislation. <\/p>\n
But now the government is allowing 30 of the estimated 375 animals there to be culled, citing safety concerns for rural dwellers and livestock owners. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s part of the government\u2019s effort to drastically reduce the overall number of wolves in the country \u2013 from a previous minimum population of 300 to a new minimum of 170. This minimum number, under Sweden\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency, is referred to as a \u201cfavorable reference value.\u201d <\/p>\n
This is despite the wolf\u2019s status as \u201chighly threatened\u201d on The Swedish Red List, which monitors the extinction risk of species in the Nordic country. <\/p>\n
Conservationists were further alarmed last month when the Council of Europe\u2019s Bern Convention committee, which includes 49 countries and the European Union, voted in favor of an EU proposal to lower the protection status of wolves from \u201cstrictly protected\u201d to \u201cprotected.\u201d The convention was originally established to protect species and habitats. <\/p>\n
\u201cStrictly protected\u201d status meant wolves could not be deliberately killed or captured, but with the downgrading, the Council of Europe says member states will now have \u201cadditional flexibility\u201d when managing their local wolf populations. <\/p>\n
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) responded to the decision, calling the EU\u2019s move to weaken wolf protections \u201ca serious misstep, devoid of any solid scientific foundation.\u201d <\/p>\n
Conservationists are concerned that if wolf numbers decline there will be an even greater likelihood of genetic problems within the population. <\/p>\n
He accused the Swedish government of having \u201can anti-wildlife sentiment,\u201d saying it had \u201ca much more aggressive anti-carnivore policy\u201d than previous governments. <\/p>\n
But some conservationists think the wolves are being used as a political bargaining chip. <\/p>\n
Just 3% of the Swedish population are hunters, according to Widstrand, who says those 300,000 people are \u201ccrucially important\u201d to the country\u2019s two main political blocs, who are often neck and neck in the polls. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe hunting organizations have the ears of the politicians,\u201d said Magnus Orrebrant, Chair of the Swedish Carnivore Association (SCA), which advocates for the coexistence of people and carniverous animals, like wolves and bears. <\/p>\n
Anti-wolf sentiment is growing elsewhere in Europe too. <\/p>\n
A pony belonging to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen\u2019s was killed by a wolf in 2022. She made a statement in 2023 saying that \u201cthe concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans,\u201d which prompted several wildlife and conservation charities, including the WWF, to issue a response, calling her words \u201cmisleading\u201d and \u201cnot based on science.\u201d <\/p>\n
Von der Leyen welcomed the news last month that the Bern Convention committee had decided to adjust the protection status of wolves, calling it \u201cimportant news for our rural communities and farmers\u2026 because we need a balanced approach between the preservation of wildlife and the protection of our livelihoods.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s true that the wolf population in Europe has increased over recent years. Wild Wonders\u2019 Widstrand calls it \u201ca major, fantastic comeback conservation story.\u201d <\/p>\n
There are approximately 1,500 wolves in Germany and 3,300 in Italy, according to conservation reports. Widstrand notes there are even 120 wolves in Belgium. \u201cThese countries are vastly smaller than Sweden and more densely populated,\u201d he pointed out. <\/p>\n
Yet rural affairs minister Kullgren says wolves are affecting Swedish society \u201cmore significantly than before.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kullgren said there were \u201cparents who are afraid of letting their children play in their backyard, farmers who are afraid to let the animals out to graze due to the risk of wolf attacks and dog owners who are afraid that their beloved pets might get attacked while walking on forest paths.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is very much adding fuel to the polarized debate,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
Orrebrant, chair of the SCA, said that if the EU follows the Bern Convention committee\u2019s decision, which comes into effect on March 7, and decides to downgrade the wolf\u2019s protection status, \u201cthat will allow countries like Germany, Italy or Spain to hunt in the same way that Sweden does.\u201d <\/p>\n
In parts of northern Europe, self-sufficiency has become increasingly important against the backdrop of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Sweden officially joined NATO last year and just a few months later it joined Norway in distributing booklets to millions of households with guidance on how residents could sustain themselves in the event of war, including details on how to grow food at home. <\/p>\n
For livestock farmers involved in food production, this national agenda is further encouragement to lower Sweden\u2019s population of large carnivores. <\/p>\n
He believes the licensed wolf hunt is a necessary additional measure in the protection of livestock, adding that it is expensive for smaller farmers to install special, predator-proof fencing. <\/p>\n
But Rindevall said that sheep are often used in the argument for wolf culling, even though she says only a tiny fraction of Swedish sheep are killed by wolves. <\/p>\n
She is concerned about the message it sends to other countries, that a highly resourced country like Sweden is taking what she considers to be a regressive stance on conservation. <\/p>\n
\u201cHow can we ask other countries to preserve animals like tigers, lions and elephants when we can\u2019t seem to co-exist with wolves?\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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