Sweden allows killing of almost 10% of the wolf population

Sweden allows killing of almost 10% of the wolf population

Sweden began its annual wolf hunt this week, allowing nearly 10% of the endangered wolf population to be killed. Conservationists are raising concerns about this controversial policy.

Wolves in Sweden: A Controversial Hunting Policy

Since 2010, Sweden has allowed wolf hunting on the basis of a licensed quota. Conservationists argue that this contradicts European Union laws and have lodged complaints with the EU Commission, which has already said it will examine Sweden's compliance with the rules.

Return of the wolves

Wolves were hunted to extinction in the 1970s but have gradually reintroduced themselves to the northern European country, helped by EU conservation legislation. Now the Swedish government is allowing 30 of the estimated 375 wolves to be killed, citing safety concerns for rural residents and livestock owners.

Reducing the wolf population

This is part of the Government efforts, to drastically reduce the total number of wolves in the country - from a previous minimum population of 300 to now 170. This minimum number is referred to by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency as a "favorable reference value".

The protection level of wolves

Despite the wolf's status as “highly threatened” in the Swedish Red List, which monitors the extinction risk of species in the Nordic country, concerns have increased. Last month the committee voted Bern Committee, which includes 49 countries and the European Union, for an EU proposal to lower the protection status of wolves from “strictly protected” to “protected”.

Opposition from conservationists

The “strictly protected” status meant that wolves could not be intentionally killed or captured. The downgrade will give Member States more “flexibility” in managing their local wolf populations. The WWF has... objected to this decision and called the EU's move a "serious blunder without a solid scientific basis."

The dangers of a decline in the wolf population

Conservationists fear that a decline in the wolf population could lead to an increased risk of genetic problems within the population. "A country of 10 million people, comparable to our 450,000 square kilometers, should be one of the richest countries per capita in the world, should have an adequate population of our wildlife," Staffan Widstrand, executive director of conservation group Wild Wonders International, told CNN.

Political considerations

He accused the Swedish government of taking an “anti-wildlife stance” and pursuing a “much more aggressive anti-predator policy” than previous governments. In 2024, licenses to hunt were issued to 486 of those living in the country Bears issued, representing about 20% of their population.

Public safety and fear of wolves

Sweden's Rural Affairs Minister Peter Kullgren told CNN that the government has been working to change the country's wolf policy since taking office in 2022. However, some conservationists believe the wolves are being used as political leverage.

Wolves in Europe: A growing challenge

Negative attitudes towards wolves are also growing elsewhere in Europe. A pony that belonged to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was killed by a wolf in 2022. She spoke out in 2023, stating that “the concentration of wolf packs in some European regions poses a real danger to livestock and potentially also to people.”

Call for a balanced approach

Rural Affairs Minister Kullgren admits that wolves are affecting Swedish society “significantly more than before”. However, Beatrice Rindevall, chairwoman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, points out that there has not been a wolf attack on humans since 1821. “The government is stoking unnecessary fears,” she added.

A look into the future

Orrebrant, the head of the Swedish Predators Association, warns that the EU committee's decision, which comes into force on March 7, could also authorize countries such as Germany, Italy or Spain to hunt in a similar way to Sweden. In parts of Northern Europe, self-sufficiency is becoming increasingly important in light of the war in Ukraine.

For livestock farmers involved in food production, this national agenda provides additional incentive to reduce the population of larger carnivores in Sweden. “The wolf is a difficult animal to live with,” explains Magnus Rydholm from the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management. He believes that licensed hunting of wolves is a necessary measure to protect livestock.

Finally, Rindevall is concerned about the message being sent to other countries: a highly developed country like Sweden is taking what she calls a regressive stance on conservation. “How can we ask other countries to protect animals like tigers, lions and elephants while we are unable to coexist with wolves?”