ANOTHER CULL OF THE DWINDLING WOLF POPULATION IN NORWAY
See also the Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society website for updates.
The Norwegian wolf population totals 20 individuals (excluding some shared Norwegian-Swedish
individuals along the border) and the species is listed as endangered, i.e. high risk of extermination. Through the recent
decision by the Directorate for Nature Management five individuals, 25% of the total population will be hunted down in the
coming weeks. Once again the neighbouring Sweden government will not be consulted although their wolf population in included
in the global and misleading statistics which the Norwegian administration likes to use as a smoke screen: “the total
wolf population in Norway and Sweden is approximately 100 individuals” In fact, the whole Scandinavian wolf population,
numbering is highly inbred due to the constant shooting of new wolves which come from Finland and Russia. Thus, the population
is now extremely vulnerable. If the regular poaching is admitted, in addition to the legal pressure and reduced genetic diversity,
the prospects for the Scandinavian wolf population are bleak indeed. It is quite extraordinary that this miniscule population
has managed to survive at all.
The losses of livestock that have triggered this latest cull are negligible (47 sheep
in southern hunting area, less in the northern, and the total confirmed national loss due to wolf in 2004 was 544 sheep) as
is the potential damage. The really major losses are caused by sheep farming practices. Two million sheep are left to fend
for themselves in the wilderness for several months each year, resulting in losses of 100.000 sheep caused by all factors
other than predators, i.e. 1.100 sheep each day during the grazing season. This itself is not only poor animal husbandry,
it is also an animal cruelty problem on a large scale and is officially tolerated by the authorities. This is in stark contrast
to the “unacceptable” loss of 544 sheep to wolves nationally/per annum.
It is reprehensible that Norway
shows no interest in protecting its wolf population. On the contrary - no efforts are spared to push the remaining tiny population
towards the brink of extinction. Notwithstanding that the wolf is not officially a hunted species!
This is not a flattering picture of a nation which was one of the original signatories
of the Bern Convention - the international agreement on wildlife and habitat conservation. Together with other environmental
matters, such as its stance on whale hunting, Norway’s
credibility in this field has reached a depressing low.
The wolf population goal in Norway
was decided by the Parliament in summer
2004:
<http://www.fvr.no/informasjon/carnigoal.html>.
It sets an astoundingly low goal of 3 annual breedings inside a tiny area close to the
Swedish border:
<http://www.fvr.no/informasjon/2004forlik.html>
For all practical purposes it is a goal of extermination. Over the years the politically
based management area has steadily been reduced:
<http://www.fvr.no/informasjon/ulvesone2004lg_usemap.html>
It has been nothing else than a long term stepwise effort to rid the country of wolves
altogether. It is the result of destitute and primitive attitudes towards the natural environment. And, while the killing
has begun again, the population target within the management area has not yet been achieved!
The decision to hunt down one quarter of the Norwegian wolf population is yet another
severe blow for the international environmental community.
