Wolf hunting divides Swedish society

Vasteras, Sweden. Lars Björk shows the tracks of a wolf in a snow-covered forest in central Sweden, where the biggest hunt for this predator in the country’s recent history divides the population.

“We have quite a few wolves here,” Björk told AFP as she settled into a small hunting lodge a few kilometers from the city of Västerås.

“In fact we are right now” in one of their new territories, adds this wolf specialist, who is part of the Swedish Federation of hunters.

This year, the Nordic country has allowed hunters to kill 75 of an estimated population of 460, according to the environmental protection authority.

It is the highest number since the hunting of this mammal was authorized in 2010 and more than double that of last season.

The period to hunt them began on January 1 and ends on February 15. Since then, more than 50 wolves have been killed. But it is likely that the maximum authorized figure will not be reached.

One of the reasons is that wolf hunting divides society in this Nordic country, as it does in other countries such as Spain and France.

“Limit problems”

For a long time, Sweden was considered a model for environmental protection, although it opposed wolves for centuries, considered a plague in the 19th century.

The state even paid bounties for killing this animal until the mid-20th century, bringing it to the brink of extinction.

Its population grew again in the decades after the 1960s after the government declared it a protected species.

When their number exceeded 200 specimens, the government authorized their hunting, but under the condition of respecting the quotas imposed during the established period.

“The goal is simply to limit the problems they cause in more rural areas,” explains Björk, 59.

For ranchers, wolves represent a threat, as they attack livestock, especially sheep.

They also pose a threat to hunting dogs, used to track and direct wild game such as deer and elk.

Sweden also authorizes the hunting of brown bears, wolverines and lynxes — all of which are considered endangered — to limit damage to livestock and reindeer.

European Union Warning

“It’s unbelievable that Sweden continues to make these decisions,” criticizes Maria Stegard Lind, vice president of the Jaktkritikerna association, which works to limit hunting.

The hunt continues “despite the fact that the European Commission has been very clear in its opinion that these hunts are actually illegal,” he told AFP at the group’s office in Stockholm.

The detractors of the hunts argue that the wolf, due to its role as predator, is necessary to protect biodiversity.

In 2015, the European Commission ruled that the wolf population had not “reached the level that guarantees the conservation of the species”, so their hunting violated the European Union’s Habitats Directive.

But for Swedish Christian Democrat MP Kjell-Arne Ottosson, whose party is part of the ruling coalition, the country must resist European warnings.

“Wolves are a threat to those of us who live in rural areas. We have to manage it seriously,” he insists.

The issue often boils down to disputes over how many wolves should be accepted to limit the impacts and risks of their presence.

The environmental agency estimates that at least 300 are needed to sustain a healthy population. Other scientists believe the number should be higher, around 500.

In 2021, the Swedish Parliament established that number should be 270. The hunting Federation, for its part, wants to reduce it to 150.

“The wolf has a place here, of course. But not in the quantities that we have today and not in the concentrations that we have today,” concludes Björk.