Sudet Minister Emma Kari criticizes the wolf’s shooting permit – demands that the guidelines be transferred to the entire government

Climateand the Minister for the Environment Emma Kari (Green) criticizes the game center ‘s permission to shoot a herd of wolves living in Saunajärvi, Kuhmo.

This is one of the most remote wolf herds in Finland. It is due to be fired in full in February, unless a complaint about the shooting exemption stops the process.

Read more: Finland gave permission for the shooting of every individual in a large and exceptionally remote herd of wolves: “It has been the end of our deliberations”

“The question arises about the fate of the Saunajärvi wolf herd: If a wolf is not allowed to live in wilderness conditions in Finland, avoiding humans, where can it live? Some people think it’s nowhere to be found, ”Kari writes in his blog published on Friday.

According to Kari, the dumping permit for the wolf herd says that at least not everyone in Finland takes nature loss seriously.

He also demands that decisions on stockpile hunting of endangered large carnivores be transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to the entire government.

Saunajärven there are eight wolves in the herd. Their territory is partly in Finland, partly in the border zone and partly in Russia.

There are very few settlements in the core area of ​​Reviir.

“The decree issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is most likely leading to the shooting of the wolves that have the least impact on people’s lives. These culled wolves would not appear in the statistics on the loss of biodiversity, because the wolves live in the border region, in the territory of two states, ”Kari writes.

Game Center License Manager Marko Paasimaa told HS the granting of the wolf landing permit had nothing to do with the alleged damage caused by the wolves. The permit was granted because the herd also lives on the Russian side and its disappearance would not be reflected in Finnish wolf herd statistics.

Wolf is protected in Finland by the Hunting Act. In addition, strict protection outside the reindeer husbandry area is required by the EU Habitats Directive.

Exemptions for the killing of a wolf are granted for two reasons: either for a specific wolf due to wolf damage or for stocking reasons, in which case the permit usually applies to the whole herd or a couple.

In December, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry issued a decree granting a permit for wolf hunting to kill 20 wolves in 2022. Hunting permits were issued for the first time since 2016.

Environmental organizations are criticizing the solution. According to the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the decision was premature because the favorable level of protection for the wolf is still being determined.