Swedish Slaughter

More than 150 brown bears have been killed in the secon day of Sweden's annual bear humt. The government issued 486 licenses equivalent to about 20% of the remaining population. This slaughter was exceed last year by a cull of 722 bears last year. Incredibly, police accompanied hunters in anticipationof protests. Hunters said they felt a sense of foreboding in the recent past. police officers have been patrolling the forests and using drones to deter possible disruption of the hunts. Ecologists think that too many bears are being killed to insure a vialbe population of about 1400 bears according to the government. Currently there are an estimated 2400, down from a peak of 3300 in 2008. Bears were hunted to near extinction in Sweden a century ago.

Over the past two years, Sweden has killed hundreds of wolves, lynx and bears. The largest wolf hunt in modern times in 2023 aimed at reducing the already small population of 460 by 75. Environmental groups in Norway asked its neighbor to turn down license applications in some border areas over concern the hunt would reduce brown bear numbers in their country. Swedish authorities ignored the requests. Modern hunting techniques, often using dogs, are more lethal than in the past Sweden licened 201lynx hunters last year, double the number in previous years. There are only 1,400 of the felines spread across the country Lynx and wolves pose no threat to humans, neither do brown bears unless provoked.  Hunting them is about trophies and thrills. Conservationists have warned that the lynx population in Europe could collapse unless immediate efforts are made to protect the animals. Tests on the remaining cats in France show that their genetic diversity is so low they will become locally extinct within the next 30 years without intervention. [Swedish lynx, credit Alamy]

Bears are a "strictly protected species" under EU law, which prohibits deliberate hunting or killing. This prohibition apparently falls in deaf ears in the Swedish government, which may be experiencing EU fatigue similar to that which struck the UK almost a decade ago. Thanks to these environmental protection laws populations of large mammals have rebounded in Europe to some extent. Now, European governments seem ready to relax these restrictions. Romania announed a cull of 500 brown bears this year, and Germany is relaxing the rules on wolf hunting.  It seems Europe is not ready to be re-wilded.