This year’s hunt covers 12.5 areas in the five most wolf-dense counties; Gävleborg, Dalarna, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. The half territory is explained by the fact that three of the territories are shared with Norway, and therefore only half is included in the Swedish hunting quota.
The hunt is the largest since license hunting resumed in 2010, and is welcomed by the hunters.
– Hunting is absolutely necessary to slow the growth of wolves. The wolf pack is the largest we have had in modern times, says Gunnar Glöersen, predator manager at the Swedish Hunters’ Association, and himself a hunter in one of the designated hunting areas in Värmland.
A total of 75 wolves may be killed in this winter’s hunt, to compare with the 203 that have been killed in total during all licensed hunts since 2010.
The decision has been appealed
The purpose of the record hunt is, according to the county boards’ hunting decision, to reduce the concentration of the wolf tribe in the areas where it is most dense.
Several organizations have appealed the hunting decisions, but to no avail.
– You get discouraged. There is report after report that the wolf tribe has major problems, but they don’t take it seriously, says Daniel Ekblom from the Nature Conservation Association’s wildlife management group in Gävleborg.
According to the latest inventory, there are currently 460 wolves in Sweden. Gunnar Glöersen of the Swedish Hunters’ Association does not agree that the tribe would be threatened.
– I’ve heard that since the eighties, he says.
Hear the arguments for and against the record hunt in the clip above.
