Roughly translated by TWIN Observer
JUNSELE / TT One of the two wolves that have posed problems for reindeer in the Junsele area was shot Friday afternoon. This occurred a few hours after the Environmental Protection Agency had given the green light for the hunting of the animals.
The wolf that was shot from a helicopter with a shotgun was male. The female is shyer and managed to stay away on Friday. New attempts to kill her will be made later.
The female is a genetically valuable individual who immigrated from Russia. She was moved south three times, but returned north every time and continued to be a scourge for the reindeer.
The EPA had hoped that the couple would remain in western Angermanland over the winter so that a litter to be born in the spring.
“It’s sad, but we see no other solution than culling. It is not ethical to move the female again, especially considering that it returned after each move,” says Maria Ågren, Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Backlash against inbreeding
The genetically valuable female now to be killed is a setback in efforts to reduce inbreeding in the Swedish wolf population.
“We will now lose an important part in the complex process of strengthening the Swedish wolf population. We will continue with the work in progress on the other tracks, it is among other things to put puppies born in zoos to the wild wolves territory,” says Maria Ågren.
Stress reindeer to panic
“There was no other way out. Wolves and reindeer can not be together, we know that since time immemorial,” says Jorgen Jonsson, chairman of the Swedish Sami Association.
There are a number of reindeer that have their winter grazing in the area where the pair formed a wolf territory.
“The wolves hunt in a way that makes it very difficult to cope with the management of the reindeer. It is not just that the wolves killed a number of animals, but the whole herd was scared off in panic and scattered over large areas. The reindeer who needs peace and quiet to be able to eat were stressed hard. It also affects the animals’ condition negatively,” says Jörgen Jonsson.