Roughly translated by TWIN Observer
Stockholm / TT
Poaching of wolves has not decreased in Sweden in recent years, rather increased. Wolf trackers and carnivore managers at the county administrative boards present this in a new report.
The group is led by Mats Rapp, wolf tracker for the County Board in Dalarna. He and his colleagues will soon release a report that suggests that at least 50 wolves were poached in Dalarna and the county since 2005.
“We clearly see that more and more animals just disappear. In summer and autumn all litters go up in smoke,” says Rapp.
They strongly question the figures that a group of researchers has developed on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). According to the researchers, the poaching has declined sharply since 2005.
“When the researcher’s report came we reacted very strongly. That is why we compiled this report. It gives a completely opposite picture of the situation.
At WWF, who is cautious in their comments, but says that the researchers’ studies might have underestimated the true level of illegal hunting.
But Olof Liberg, coordinator of the Scandinavian wolf research and one of the co-authors of the research study, dismisses the criticism.
“In recent years, growth has been 20 percent or more per year, compared to about ten percent in the past. It shows that death rates declined sharply, says Liberg.
A meeting is planned now between the county and researchers which will review the reports and figures.