The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry wants to change the conditions regarding exceptional permits for shooting wolves and other large predators – and wants to do so quickly.
A draft bill was sent out for a fast-tracked comment round last Friday. The ministry, led by Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah (CD), is proposing changes in the law on exceptional hunting permits for large predators. Besides wolves, these include lynx, brown bears and wolverines.
Ministry officials say they want the biological characteristics of species covered by the exemption law to be better taken into account. An example of this is the pack behaviour of wolves.
"The wolf is a pack animal that defends its territory. The pack hunts together, so the pack rather than any individual is the problem," Vesa Ruusila, head of the ministry’s game and recreational fisheries department, told Yle's Swedish-language news.
More flexible terms
Therefore, the ministry proposes that the so-called exception law no longer necessarily needs to be tied to a specific individual, for example an individual wolf that has attacked sheep, if, "due to weather conditions or any other valid reason, it is not possible to identify the individual that caused the damage," the draft states.
The area where such hunting is allowed under a special licence would also be larger than before.
"When it comes to a pack of wolves that caused damage," says Ruusila, "it would be justified to allow hunting in an extended area, not just in the place where the damage was done, especially if there is no snow on the ground" to assist tracking.
Ruusila points out that the Finnish Wildlife Agency decides on such permits on a case-by-case basis and that granting exceptional permits is the last resort.
This past winter, courts overturned a large number of exceptional lynx hunting permits issued by the agency, declaring them unjustified.
The bill also proposes that an exceptional permit would be in force 10 days longer than now, for up to a full month.
The draft is being circulated for expert commentary until 18 June, a shorter period than usual. The ministry justifies the short timeframe by saying that it aims to have the legislative changes take effect during the current grazing season.
There have been several wolf attacks on sheep and other livestock around Finland this spring.
"An outdated view of predators"
The Finnish Society for Nature and Environment (FSNE, known in Swedish as Natur och Miljö) is disappointed by the plan.
"The proposal unfortunately reflects an outdated, flawed view of the role of predators in natural food chains, which is not based on scientific facts or on current international protection legislation, but on other, purely anti-predator interests," FSNE operations manager Camilla Sederholm told Svenska Yle.
She adds that her association understands the concerns of livestock owners.
"These concerns should be taken seriously and the question of responsibility should be broadened so that methods other than hunting are also given greater attention. Preparedness against possible damage by wolves must be improved," she says.
Relocation not an option?
WWF Finland also rejects the proposal, particularly its claim that it is impossible to trap bears, wolves, lynxes or wolverines in order to tranquilise and relocate them.
"The WWF does not believe that this change is possible or justified. The Court of Justice of the European Union has previously held that exceptions cannot be added nationally that are not regulated by the Nature Directives. The proposal excludes capture and relocation as an option. And according to EU law, one must weigh up the different options in an actual situation," says WWF Finland’s programme director for Finnish biodiversity, Petteri Tolvanen.
The EU has repeatedly criticised Finland over allowing the hunting of wolves, which are a strictly protected species under the EU Habitats Directive and the Bern Convention.
Population growing, more inbreeding
The wolf population in Finland has grown by an average of 10 percent annually over the past three decades. However, the increase has been uneven, with the population sometimes declining for several consecutive years.
Although the population is growing, the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) reports that it has split into separate western and eastern populations, with genetic diversity deteriorating, particularly in the west.
According to the programme of the government formed by PM Petteri Orpo (NCP) nearly a year ago, hunting is "an integral part of Finnish culture".
"The significance of hunting in society will be recognised and its future will be ensured. Efforts will be made to prevent conflicts between hunting and nature conservation, and hunting opportunities in nature conservation areas, for example, will not be restricted without proper reasons," the agenda says.
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