Give the wolf a chance!

If the wolf in the southern Scandinavian wolf population is to have a future, the wolf from the east, Finland and Russia, must be given the opportunity to get south. New genes are needed. If you are able to shoot the wolf to kill, you can also shoot to stun and move the animals. The authorities must soon present a strategy for how to catch and move immigrating wolves from Northern Norway to Eastern Norway.

In December 2018, 2 wolves were shot in Pasvik in Finnmark. The fear that the wolf would be a threat to reindeer and sheep is used as an argument for hunting. Prior to the hunt, 57 sheep and 5 reindeer were found documented to have been killed by wolves. In the new year, another wolf felling permit was granted. Fortunately, this wolf was not shot, the Wildlife Board opens conditional hunting permits for wolves every year. This applies to wolves from Finland and Russia. The authorities fear that the wolf will establish itself in the reindeer husbandry areas and it is also determined in the management plan for predators in region 8 that no wolves are to be found in Finnmark. NMF has noticed that wolves are not wanted in reindeer husbandry areas, but do you have to shoot and kill the animals?

The wolf is today a critically endangered species in Norway. Most of the known occurrences of wolves in the country can be found today in Eastern Norway. There you will find the southern Scandinavian wolf population that Norway shares with Sweden. The population is characterized by inbreeding with weak genetic diversity. Immigrant wolves from Finland and Russia are the lifeblood of the southern Scandinavian wolf population. Wolves from the east are the only ones that can contribute to strengthening the genetic diversity of the southern Scandinavian wolf population. These animals are extremely important, genetically important. Supply of new genetic material via wolves from the east occurs far too rarely. The animals are often shot before they arrive. NMF sees it as a necessity that, as far as possible, help wolves from the east to the south. Wolf tracks are observed in northern Norway almost every winter.

NMF proposes that the authorities take responsibility for the wolf and contribute to the following: Any wolf that is observed in Finnmark and that may be a threat to reindeer herding is sought as far as is practically possible to be sedated for transport south to the southern Scandinavian wolf population. The Swedes have done this.

Moving animals is also practiced around the world. If you manage to move elephants in Africa, you probably also manage to move wolves in Norway.

If the wolf in the southern Scandinavian wolf population is to have a future, the wolf from the east, Finland and Russia, must be given the opportunity to get south. New genes are needed. If you are able to shoot the wolf to kill, you can also shoot to stun and move the animals. The authorities must soon present a strategy for how to catch and move immigrating wolves from Northern Norway to Eastern Norway.