Roughly translated by TWIN Observer
MALMÖ / TT
The Environmental Protection Agency after a request from Farmers’ Federation (LRF) again granted the hunting of wolves in Skåne – despite the fact that the Administrative Court in Stockholm recently rejected the first decision on culling in the same area.
In fact, it’s probably the same wolf still raging in southeast Skåne and that since August 4 killed 35 sheep and injured a further large number of sheep.
The area has about 400 sheep flocks. Animal owners have been urged to use preventive measures, including improved fencing installation. But because there are lands with forced grazing the sheep must be placed in pastures that are very difficult to fence.
The Environmental Protection Agency said for the first time in favor of the wolf hunting in southeast Skåne on August 15 since the wolf had in a short time killed 23 sheep in five flocks in the municipalities of Ystad, Sjöbogatan and Tomelilla.
After an appeal the decision was overturned by the Administrative Law Court. The EPA has subsequently appealed the Administrative Court’s decision to the Appeals Court which has not yet taken a position on the merits.
But throughout this legal process the time to hunt – from August 21 to September 11 – ran out. And, according to the Environmental Protection Agency it is free to make new decisions about culling.
“What the Appeals Court does will simply have no effect,” says Gote Hamplin, wildlife officer at the Environmental Protection Agency.
He is hopeful that the order, if the decision was appealed, this time will approve the controlled hunt.
“We have worked hard with even stronger motivation and basis,” he says.