Local hunters shot a wolf dead on Saturday in Renko, Hämeenlinna in southern Finland. The Finnish Wildlife Agency has permitted the killing of two encroaching wolves, a first for the region.
One wild wolf has been killed by hunters in South Häme.
The Finnish Wildlife Agency granted two exemptions to the no-killing rule against protected wolves in Häme Proper and Päijänne Häme, which together constitute a region known as South Häme.
The exemptions are historic, as no such special permissions have ever been handed out to hunters in the area before.
Leading the hunt was Pekka Ojala, who says that the wolf was felled on Saturday afternoon in Renko. Neither he nor the other hunters are willing to divulge the exact location of the kill.
Members of the Renko wolf pack have been sighted in private yards. The Wildlife Agency’s guidelines clearly state that hunting permits are to be issued only for young and problematic individuals.
Ojala says that the wolf killed on Saturday was a young male.
“This wolf had repeatedly entered populated human territory,” Ojala says.
The shot animal is being sent to the Natural Resources Institute in Taivalkoski to be studied.
The felling exemption is in effect until Jan 28. The license is restricted to the Hämeenlinna areas of Renko, Kalvola, Loppi, Janakkala and Hattula.
Another three wolves were put down by hunters in North Karelia earlier this week.
Sources Yle