Sweden’s largest wolf extermination in modern times ‘catastrophic’ for species
In the coming month, 75 out of 460 wolves will be killed as the government tries to reduce the population.
Sweden has begun the largest wolf slaughter in modern times when nature authorities warned that it could seriously harm the population.
The government has given hunters permission to kill 75 of the 460 wolves currently roaming the country in an attempt to reduce their numbers, but wildlife organizations claim Sweden’s wolf population is relatively low compared to, for example, Italy, where there are more than 3,000.
Wildlife activists warn that the decision by the Swedish government could further endanger the species and encourage other European countries to follow suit.
Gunnar Gloersen, head of game at the Swedish Hunters’ Association, said that hunting is “absolutely necessary to slow down the growth of wolves,” The Guardian newspaper reported.
“The wolf pack is the largest we’ve had in modern times,” he noted.
But wildlife organizations say this violates the Council of Europe’s Bern Convention and they have unsuccessfully tried to appeal the decision, according to the paper.
Daniel Ekblom from the Nature Conservation Society’s Wildlife Conservation Group in Gävleborg tells The Guardian that the government does not pay much attention to their findings about the threat to the species.
“You get discouraged. There’s report after report that the wolf tribe is in big trouble, but (the government doesn’t take it) seriously.”
Endangered species
Marie Stegard, president of the anti-hunting group Jaktkritikerna, told the newspaper that “wolves as apex predators in the food chain are a prerequisite for biodiversity.”
She argued that killing a quarter of the population through hunting will have negative consequences for animals and nature.
This is catastrophic for the entire ecosystem, she said, adding that the wolves’ existence contributes to a richer animal and plant life.
“Human survival depends on healthy ecosystems,” Stegard added.
Swedish Rural Affairs Minister Anna-Caren Satherberg told SVT that the wolf tribe is growing every year and “with this culling, we want to make sure that we can reach the goal that the Riksdag has set.”
The state’s nature conservation agency had previously warned that the wolf population must not drop below 300 to avoid inbreeding.
But Sweden’s Riksdag is in favor of lowering the number of wolves to 170, which is the lowest you can go to meet the requirements of the EU’s habitat and species directive.
But Benny Gäfwert, a predator expert at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), told the broadcaster that Parliament’s figure of 170 “was not based on scientific facts.”
He warned that “unforeseen things can happen in wild populations, and a level of 170 is way too low.”
“We have a problem when it comes to wolf genetics, and the smaller the wolf population, the greater the impact of fluctuations in genetic status,” he added.
The Scandinavian wolf is already listed as an endangered species and now this move by the Swedish government is believed to pose a further threat.
The country shares a wolf tribe with Norway along the border, where wolves are also considered critically endangered.
Norway is the only country in the world that sets a cap, allowing only four to six cubs per year.
The Scandinavian country allows hunters to drastically reduce the wolf population every year.
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Source: AA