Conservation news snapshot Spring 2007

GERMANY: There are now about twenty wolves in two packs in Brandenburg state on the western side of the border with Poland. Since the fall of communism (and its anti-wolf policy) in East Germany, the exodus of the human population has reduced pressure on several previously endangered or extinct species in the area and the wolves of Brandenburg now have full state protection with compensation available for farmers claiming livestock loss. Wolves were hunted to extinction in the area over 100 years ago but dispersers from the growing population in Poland and Slovakia have crossed the Neise river back into Germany. In the last six years, only one of the fourteen livestock loss claims investigated has been confirmed as a wolf attack.

FINLAND: October 2006: The EU commission launched legal action against Finland under the Habitats Directive for permitting un-necessary hunting of wolves. Finland has a long cultural tradition of wolf-hatred and fear – most of it, as usual completely unfounded and based on superstition and folk-myth – and the Finns cannot understand why anyone would want to stop killing wolves. The law protecting wolves is as whacky to them as the Lithuanian blue cabbage tossing regulations are to us. (Ok. There’s no such thing!). The reindeer herders in Lapland in the far north already receive substantial compensation for not killing wolves but have a habit of taking the money and killing the wolves anyway. Despite the court action, Finland carried on granting wolf-kill permits and in November granted permission to a reindeer herder to kill 8 wolves – which had left the area by the time the permit was issued. The wolf population in Finland has grown in recent years and is now stands at around 200 odd.

IDAHO:Members of a pack of wolves near Idaho City have learned how to chew off their radio collars while gunman, poisoner and anti-wolf fanatic, Tim Sundles, who’s court case started in Early December,  has admitted to spreading meatballs laced with Temik (Aldicarb) all over Idaho to poison wolves (he only actually succeded in poisoning peoples’ pets, a coyote and a few other small animals).

SWEDEN & NORWAY: Latest estimates are that there are about 125 wolves in Sweden and about 25 in Norway. The growing population in Sweden has caused increasing conflict with livestock farmers and there has been a drop in public support for the wolves. Wolves are still protected in Sweden with a population target of around 200 but it is unlikely now that this figure (which was raised when Norway refused to permit more than three packs within its borders) will be raised again. The Swedish population is also genetically isolated and experts agree that it could very soon plummet.

SWITZERLAND: With a mere four wolves within its borders, anti-wolf panic prompted the Swiss authorities to apply to the EU to have protection removed from them (not so that they could kill them you understand - just so that they could, sort of, “manage” them with bullets, you see!). The EU, of course, declined and made it clear that Switzerland has all the wherewithal to implement protection and compensation schemes and it had better get on with doing so.

ALASKA: In August 2006, Defenders of Wildlife and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance both filed suit to stop Alaska’s gunmen using aircraft to hunt wolves. Alaska resumed aerial wolf hunting three years ago despite the fact that the sport has twice been outlawed in that state by ballot initiative. More than 550 wolves have been killed by airborne gunmen to boost moose and caribou numbers for fun-hunting in the state. The aerial program is now operating in five areas of Alaska. In late August, Alaskan governor, Frank Murkowski who has been the prime mover behind Alaska’s immoral and environmentally illiterate wolf policy, lost the primary elections to secure his governorship and will hopefully be replaced in the near future by someone who’s approach to wildlife management will not resemble so much Jack the Ripper’s approach to surgery and who will be rather less inclined to pander to Alaska’s gun lobby.

NEW MEXICO: In July 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service completed a five year review of the program to protect the near-extinct Mexicam grey wolf and decided that it would continue to support it. The program has never been very successful - there are no more than about 30 to 50 of these wolves left - because of bitter opposition from and illegal killing by ranchers. The government's attempts to appease ranching interests by killing Mexican wolves every time a rancher gets a headache or a haemorrhoid hasn't helped much either. The program suffered a major setback when six cubs were killed by a surrogate wolf parent earlier in the year.

USA: NORTHERN ROCKIES The three-state region of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho now has 158 packs totalling around 1230 wolves and the population has grown by about 20% in the last year. Idaho has around 650 wolves, Wyoming has about 300 and Montana comes in last at about 270.