The wolf hunting season has begun in Sweden, and 30 individuals from a population estimated at 375 have been allowed to be shot. Ultimately, their number is to be limited to 170. According to nature defenders, this may lead to the weakening of the species and, consequently, its extinction.
In the first hours of the wolf hunting season in Sweden on the website of the hunters' newspaper Svenskjakt.se, seven hunted animals were reported in southwestern Sweden. The season will last until February 15, but due to the interest, the limit will probably be exhausted earlier.
The permission to shoot wolves was criticized by the head of the Swedish nature conservation association Naturskyddsfoereningen, Beatrice Rindevall. “The wolf population is already in a difficult situation due to illegal hunting and problems resulting from inbreeding,” she emphasized in a statement.
She added that the hunting permit is “a textbook example of how not to deal with an endangered species because its genetic diversity is decreasing.” Rindevall expressed concern about Sweden's international reputation as an environmentally conscious country.
The wolf hunting season has started in SwedenShutterstock
A similar position was taken by Benny Gaefvert, a representative of the environmental organization WWF. “In the long term, wolves are at risk of extinction and the Swedish authorities are at risk of being sued before the Court of Justice of the EU for violating EU regulations,” Geafvert wrote.
Declining wolf population in Sweden
The Swedish government announced in 2024 that it intends to first reduce the wolf population to 270, and ultimately to 170 individuals.
Agriculture Minister Peter Kullgren emphasized that this was necessary because of the damage that predators cause to animal husbandry. Experts then emphasized that at the same time, actions should be taken to strengthen the genes of Swedish wolves.
Sweden has a great hunting tradition – this hobby is also popular among women and young people. 300,000 people have weapons permits.
Wolves “have a huge impact on the functioning of the entire ecosystem”
At the end of December 2024, Dr. Hab. talked to the Polish Press Agency. Sabina Pierużek-Nowak, professor at the University of Warsaw, who is a biologist who has been conducting research on wolves for 30 years, including ecology, behavior, dynamics of recolonization of new areas and the genetic structure of the population.
In the conversation, she noted that “wolves are very social animals that have a huge impact on the functioning of the entire ecosystem.”
– First of all, they reduce the density of wild ungulates such as deer, roe deer and wild boar. Wolves, by predating on large herbivores, protect the forest – especially young trees and undergrowth plants – from gnawing and enable its regeneration. Moreover, these predators, due to their body structure limitations, prey on the slowest escaping and therefore weakest individuals, thus positively influencing the age and sex structure of the roe deer and deer population as well as its health condition – she described.
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When asked about an example of behavior that deviates from the stereotypical thinking about wolves, Pierużek-Nowak said that “for example, wolves are believed to be excellent killers.” – That's not the case at all. From scientific research in USAbut also from our observations, e.g. thanks to camera traps, show that their hunting is often ineffective. Besides, the so-called a pack of wolves is not a pack of killers and cruel people. It's simply a family group with people of different ages, fitness levels, skills and personalities, she explained.
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