What's a day like at the biggest wolf hunt in Swedish history?
Sweden's wolf cull continues this week with the government allowing a record-breaking 75 wolves to be culled. Freelance journalist Beata Furstenberg reports from the first day of the hunt.
It starts one minute after midnight on January 2nd, deep in the beautiful snow-covered countryside. A small party of hunters start tracking the wolves. Two wolves are found in the woods between Gävleborg and Dalarna län, which share a revir (wolf territory). This particular wolf territory is called “Tinäs”.
At 6am, the hunters have a morning meeting and then 150 hunters disperse to the different “quadrants” to go to their “pass”. A pass is the point a hunter will stand or sit, waiting for the wolves to come their way.
The tracks of a wolf in the snow. Photo: Beata Furstenberg
The hunt is led by Johan Lundberg, head of the local hunting association. The hunters split into groups of 30-35, each covering a particular area where they will stand and wait. The various groups monitor their positions on a digital map. When the dogs bark, a little red spot lights up on the map, signaling to the hunters where the wolf is likely to be.
“The challenge is the number of hunting teams involved and the area involved – it’s a very large area," Lundberg says, when asked how this hunt is different from previous years.
"Usually, we hunt on 3,000 hectar and now it’s much much bigger at 5,000 – 6,000 hectar. We asked anyone with a hunting licence if they wanted to participate, but the challenge is logistics.
“The goal is to empty the territory of all wolves," he states.
A rifle used for hunting. Photo: Beata Furstenberg
The hunters surround the area like a chain-link fence. A group of 13 dogs are released to drive the wolves from their lair. It is quickly confirmed that the wolves, which have been sleeping, have been roused and are on the run.
The hunters wait hours. At 3pm, the hunt is called off when darkness falls.
By the end of day one, nobody has actually seen a wolf. But the hunters think they have narrowed the search area down. During the night, a small group of hunters keep tracking two wolves and the following morning Lundgren announces: “We have a good idea where they are."
There is a lot of excitement on the morning of day two. The first wolf is shot at 10.45am – a 31.1 kg female. The second wolf is shot a couple of hours later, at 12.30pm – a 43.8 kg male.
At the end of day two, Tinäs territory has been emptied of all wolves. And the shooting continues across other areas in Sweden.
Jonas Danielsson shows the type of weapon commonly is used in the ongoing wolf hunt. Photo: Beata Furstenberg
When hunter Jonas Danielsson is asked why so many wolves have to be killed, he says: “Everything must be in balance. We have sheep, dogs and hunting dogs that are bothered by wolves and killed by wolves. Not even the wolves benefit if there are too many (...) they should be at acceptable levels.”
Danielsson adds that an acceptable level should be a hundred wolves, because “we don’t need more”.
EDITOR'S PICK:
Several times during our interview, Danielsson points out that wolf hunting is “controversial”. On day two, there was an incident where a 45-year old man is said to have attempted to run over a wolf hunter. He was arrested.
Benny Gävfert, wildlife expert at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) states that ”the number of wolves allowed to be shot is historically the highest that has ever been allowed. This will cause growth in the wolf population to stop and level out – which we [WWF] hope will make the current government realise that if they allow even larger culls, it will be raised as an issue in the EU Commission”.
So, why has the Swedish government authorised the killing of 75 wolves?
"Politicians want to cull the wolves to attract voters, and they don’t understand how it will really affect people and the environment,” states Gävfert.
However, Lundberg states that hunting wolves is an important “cultural heritage”.
The Swedish Wild Predator Association disagrees and has organised a mail campaign to try to stop the hunt. A Facebook page has been created, with email addresses of officials at the county administrative board and the Environmental Protection Agency for those critical of the hunt to get in touch.
However, chairman Magnus Orrebrant strongly emphasises that the campaign does not aim to pressure individual civil servants.
“No, you should not put pressure on individual officials, but you can communicate with them. The hunting organisations do the same thing – they write protest lists and organise public meetings and meetings with ministers,” he says.
A hunter walking through the Swedish forest. Photo: Beata Furstenberg
The Swedish Wild Predator Association is demanding that the Swedish authorities stop the hunt, which they describe as unethical. They have also questioned whether the hunt is legal.
In Norway, all their current living wolves (52) were to be shot, but a judge put a stop to the hunting, for now. The judge was forced to resign, his decision is being challenged and a final decision is to be taken on January 9th when the parties are going to meet and discuss the issue.
In Sweden, the hunt is still ongoing and more wolves are shot each day. The hunt can be followed at Jaktjournalen which gives detailed updates on the hunters' progress, including where each wolf is killed.
As of beginning of Monday morning, January 9th, 51 wolves have been shot in less than a week.
Beata Furstenberg is a Swedish-American freelance journalist, currently completing a master's degree in Investigative Journalism at Gothenburg University.
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It starts one minute after midnight on January 2nd, deep in the beautiful snow-covered countryside. A small party of hunters start tracking the wolves. Two wolves are found in the woods between Gävleborg and Dalarna län, which share a revir (wolf territory). This particular wolf territory is called “Tinäs”.
At 6am, the hunters have a morning meeting and then 150 hunters disperse to the different “quadrants” to go to their “pass”. A pass is the point a hunter will stand or sit, waiting for the wolves to come their way.
The hunt is led by Johan Lundberg, head of the local hunting association. The hunters split into groups of 30-35, each covering a particular area where they will stand and wait. The various groups monitor their positions on a digital map. When the dogs bark, a little red spot lights up on the map, signaling to the hunters where the wolf is likely to be.
“The challenge is the number of hunting teams involved and the area involved – it’s a very large area," Lundberg says, when asked how this hunt is different from previous years.
"Usually, we hunt on 3,000 hectar and now it’s much much bigger at 5,000 – 6,000 hectar. We asked anyone with a hunting licence if they wanted to participate, but the challenge is logistics.
“The goal is to empty the territory of all wolves," he states.
The hunters surround the area like a chain-link fence. A group of 13 dogs are released to drive the wolves from their lair. It is quickly confirmed that the wolves, which have been sleeping, have been roused and are on the run.
The hunters wait hours. At 3pm, the hunt is called off when darkness falls.
By the end of day one, nobody has actually seen a wolf. But the hunters think they have narrowed the search area down. During the night, a small group of hunters keep tracking two wolves and the following morning Lundgren announces: “We have a good idea where they are."
There is a lot of excitement on the morning of day two. The first wolf is shot at 10.45am – a 31.1 kg female. The second wolf is shot a couple of hours later, at 12.30pm – a 43.8 kg male.
At the end of day two, Tinäs territory has been emptied of all wolves. And the shooting continues across other areas in Sweden.
When hunter Jonas Danielsson is asked why so many wolves have to be killed, he says: “Everything must be in balance. We have sheep, dogs and hunting dogs that are bothered by wolves and killed by wolves. Not even the wolves benefit if there are too many (...) they should be at acceptable levels.”
Danielsson adds that an acceptable level should be a hundred wolves, because “we don’t need more”.
EDITOR'S PICK:
Several times during our interview, Danielsson points out that wolf hunting is “controversial”. On day two, there was an incident where a 45-year old man is said to have attempted to run over a wolf hunter. He was arrested.
Benny Gävfert, wildlife expert at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) states that ”the number of wolves allowed to be shot is historically the highest that has ever been allowed. This will cause growth in the wolf population to stop and level out – which we [WWF] hope will make the current government realise that if they allow even larger culls, it will be raised as an issue in the EU Commission”.
So, why has the Swedish government authorised the killing of 75 wolves?
"Politicians want to cull the wolves to attract voters, and they don’t understand how it will really affect people and the environment,” states Gävfert.
However, Lundberg states that hunting wolves is an important “cultural heritage”.
The Swedish Wild Predator Association disagrees and has organised a mail campaign to try to stop the hunt. A Facebook page has been created, with email addresses of officials at the county administrative board and the Environmental Protection Agency for those critical of the hunt to get in touch.
However, chairman Magnus Orrebrant strongly emphasises that the campaign does not aim to pressure individual civil servants.
“No, you should not put pressure on individual officials, but you can communicate with them. The hunting organisations do the same thing – they write protest lists and organise public meetings and meetings with ministers,” he says.
The Swedish Wild Predator Association is demanding that the Swedish authorities stop the hunt, which they describe as unethical. They have also questioned whether the hunt is legal.
In Norway, all their current living wolves (52) were to be shot, but a judge put a stop to the hunting, for now. The judge was forced to resign, his decision is being challenged and a final decision is to be taken on January 9th when the parties are going to meet and discuss the issue.
In Sweden, the hunt is still ongoing and more wolves are shot each day. The hunt can be followed at Jaktjournalen which gives detailed updates on the hunters' progress, including where each wolf is killed.
As of beginning of Monday morning, January 9th, 51 wolves have been shot in less than a week.
Beata Furstenberg is a Swedish-American freelance journalist, currently completing a master's degree in Investigative Journalism at Gothenburg University.
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