Schultz Environment Blog

Environment in a broad sense,transports and energy issues. From my local point of view with a global touch!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Wolves in Sweden

How many wolves shall we have in Sweden? Should there be any hunting of them? There are some questions about the wolves in Sweden to be answered, that’s what the EU commission thinks anyway. Last week our Minister of Environment who earlier that week presented the Swedish governments reply to the EU Commission about the Swedish quota regulated Wolf Hunt. He declared that there will be no quota regulated hunt on wolves this winter but probably again 2013. The government don’t want a formal trial concerning if Sweden broke against the Habitats directive. He said this was a way to keep the decisions about hunting in Sweden and not to be in the hands of Brussels (read EU). The questions about the wolves are best handled here in Sweden near the people who live side by side with the wolves, he said.

The daily Swedish newspaper DN expressed some astonished that the same Minister of Environment in 2006 was angry about that Island decided about the hunt of 39 whales. It’s not a question for a single country to decide about, he said at that time.

The Swedish Society for nature conservation believes that the government is trying to fool the commission with their answer and they will, together with WWF Sweden and the Swedish Society for Predators, form a petition to the commission about this. – Hopefully, the Commission will take Sweden to the European Court of Justice. We hope that many will join our protest over the hunt and the fact that Sweden, once a pioneer in environmental protection, is eroding its biodiversity policy, says Mikael Karlsson , chairman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

The Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management means on the other hand that the quota regulated hunt must be back in 2013 and says also that it would have been better if the government had defended the hunt better and let the EU commission have tried it in the European Court of Justice.

As you can see there are different interests and opinions about wolves in Sweden…..

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