Culling of Wolves in Three European Nations, Opposes by Conservation Groups

Conservationists have been left furious after Scandinavian countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway has the intent to cull wolves this winter to control their population.

The hunters in Sweden have already culled the majority of their yearly goal of 27 wolves, while Finland is planning on killing 20 wolves in its first population management cull.

Apart from them, Norway will slaughter 60%, or 51 wolves, to keep the population of wolves in the country and left with a maximum number of three breeding pairs, as per Republicworld.com.

According to Birdguides, the culling in Norway, which unusually allows for the killing of up to 25 wolves inside the country's "wolf protection zone," has been described by the government officials as a "compromise" between keeping the predators in Norway and allowing the production of livestock to continue safely.

Conservation groups are fighting for this horrific situation

The chief executive of an animal rights organization called Noah, Siri Martinsen said that wolf culling is horrific.

Norway's wolf management is threatening these wolves and they are just shooting them because some people don't like them. And it is offensive to hold a species at a critically endangered level.

According to Republicworld.com report, in Norway, the wolf protection and conservation zone covers 5% of the nation, with wolves being protected as their top priority.

Despite this, 25 wolves would be culled this winter inside the protected zone, unless Noah's legal case wins.

Furthermore, wolves discovered beyond the protective zone are not permitted to reproduce and will be killed if a regional council regulates that they could constitute a danger to livestock or semi-domesticated reindeer.

Noah took the government to court for its decision to hunt a wolf family inside the wolf zone when this issue was collected in 2020.

Ruling that the government did not manage to show sufficient grounds to make a compromise from the meticulous protection of the wolf, the court delivered its judgment and concluded that the decision was in breach of the Nature Diversity Act last summer.

Read more: Norway Activists Protest after Docking of US Nuclear Submarine in Tromso

Government officials consider the illegality of the culling inside the wolf zone

As per Icenews, conservationists in Finland and Sweden have requested the European Court of Justice to declare the culls illegal, but governments believe them to be lawful based on the Habitats Directive.

Also, they have accused these three Scandinavian countries of creating an unfriendly environment for the wolves and disobeying the EU laws that protect these creatures.

The chair of the NGO Svenska Rovdjursföreningen, Magnus Orrebrant, said that the common denominator in Norway, Sweden, and Finland is the strong hunting organizations that make the politicians worried.

Hunters want an important place to hunt moose, and they want a large moose population.

However, wolves have not created any problems whatsoever, as Birdguides reported.

The Natural Resources Institute of Finland's research stated that, a biologically healthy wolf population should be over 500 in number.

Meanwhile, the wildlife organizations in Finland, as well as Sweden, have requested the European Commission and the European Court of Justice to consider the wolf slaughters illegal, however, both national administrations believe that these exceptions from the habitats must have a directive permit for legal culls, Republicworld.com reported.

Read more: Red States' Wolf Decimation Campaign Hasn't Worked