Controversial Cull Sweden Allows 27 Wolves to Be Killed
Swedish hunters have shot dead 23 wolves in the first officially approved wolf hunt in decades, prompting criticism from wildlife groups.
The country's environmental protection authority announced that up to 27 wolves -- 10 percent of Sweden's estimated wolf population -- can be shot until Feb. 15 to boost acceptance of the animals by keeping their numbers down. Wolves have become increasingly unpopular in Sweden because they attack pets and livestock and have been spotted roaming in cities including suburbs of the capital, Stockholm.
Photo Gallery: Sweden Allows Wolf Cull
The Swedish parliament voted in October to limit the stock of wolves to 210 animals in 20 packs over the coming five years and to issue hunting licenses to cull them.
One sheep breeder, Kenneth Holmström, told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter that he had lost 32 sheep in two wolf attacks in 2005. "The wolf should be allowed to exist in forests and fields but he must be better controlled," Holmström said. "He has no natural enemy and multiplies quickly."
Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgreen said the current wolf population of 220 needed to renew itself because genetic heart and kidney defects were threatening the long-term survival of Sweden's wolves. The defects were caused by incest because the population stems from just three wolves that migrated to Sweden from Finland and Russia in the 1980s and 1990s.
Several Swedish wildlife organisations, including the Swedish Society for Nature Protection, criticized the hunt and said it was in breach of several European guidelines for nature and wildlife protection.
