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Old 06-02-2005, 00:01   #21
Per Olav
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[quote="perolav"]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ori
As said before: the wolves are protected by law, but in order to avoid extraordinary killing of livestock followed by killing of wolves, the number of wolves must bekept in accordance with the recommendations given by the experts.
To avoid any confusion

The farmers are paid compensation for livestock killed by wolf but if the wolves are caught in the very act of killing livestock the may be killed.
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Old 06-02-2005, 08:21   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by perolav
The Government has declared a protected area for wolf family groups. According to our experts this zone will provide space and prey for 3 family groups - remember : close to this area is pastures for sheep, cows, tame reindeer etc. If the number of wolf family groups exceed the number of 3 (20 individuals) more attacks on livestock may be expected, and the conflict will increase. It may also lead to poaching or poisoning of the wolves.
As said before: the wolves are protected by law, but in order to avoid extraordinary killing of livestock followed by killing of wolves, the number of wolves must bekept in accordance with the recommendations given by the experts.
There is an error in the whole attitude!!! Wolves belong to nature and have the right to live on the Earth, just like people. There is competition among species, but people have brains and should use them to protect environment.
I'm sorry to say this, but if you follow the above line of argument why don't you shoot all your wolves at once, stuff them and show in a museum. Dead wolves don't attact livestock! Maybe this's the ultimate goal of the whole policy ?!

Surely you government could be more generous towards your lesser brothers, especially that you have so few of them and Norway is not a small or poor country. You may soon end up with plenty of livestock and wolves in museums. Is business all that matters?

I belive this is more a philosophical issue rather than operational (how many wolves, where, why etc.) Some people claim the right to control every bit of land, decide about life and death of each wild animal etc. others feel that humans are just a part of nature and we should try to find best means of coexistance. Everybody can choose between these option now, but if too many chose the first one, our grandchildren will have no such choice...
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Old 06-02-2005, 11:33   #23
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Originally Posted by Rona
?!I belive this is more a philosophical issue rather than operational (how many wolves, where, why etc.) Some people claim the right to control every bit of land, decide about life and death of each wild animal etc. others feel that humans are just a part of nature and we should try to find best means of coexistance. Everybody can choose between these option now, but if too many chose the first one, our grandchildren will have no such choice...
From my point of view this is turning the whole matter upside down

At first: The historical facts show that the wolves of Norway (except from occationally stray individuals) was exterminated due to severe hunting approx 200 yrs ago. Based on this new farms were established and the farmers could have an income based on farming and harvesting the nature. By late 1960s the Swedish Government allowed family groups of wolves to stay in a protected area and in the late 1970 the Norwegian Government did the same based on the fact that "Swedish" wolves entered the Norwegian side of the border from the protected Swedish area. The resistance against this from farmers and supporting groups was severe as they claimed this as a threath to their income and way of living.

There is no evidence of the origin of the Scandinavian wolves. Those in favor of the wolves says they are individuals hailing from Russia/Finland/Estonia, - the opposite side claims to know they are a part of a Governmental clandestine attempt of reintroducing the wolves into Scandinavian nature by letting wolfs from Swedish Animal Parks or Zoological Gardens enter the nature.

Many of those in disfavour of the wolves on both sides of the Norwegian/Swedish border should like to see the whole pack exterminated. Those in favour would like to see the wolves living free as a part of our nature. And as you say: ".. we should try to find the best means of coexistance". From my point of view this means that as little loss as possible made by wolves should be brought upon livestock, and reduction of life quality of those humans living in or close to the protected areas should be kept as low as possible and close to none. From the farmers point of view this means a number of wolves as close to none as possible, - for the other side this means that the number of wolves should not extend the reccomendations made by our experts.

There is no doubt that the myths of the wolf is determining peoples view of these animals. These are also a used as a weapon in the hands of those disfavouring the wolf. Even if myths and opinions should be fought against by knowledge, thousand years of myths and misunderstanding is not wept away in a few decades.

Partly related to this: Last years banning of the CSV in Norway is a minor result of the Norwegian "battle of the wolf".
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Old 25-02-2005, 04:42   #24
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Hi all, look I dont live in a country where wolves live so Im not an expert. But is it or isnt it true that wolves have an effect on the enviroment and that removing them could mean disasterous results. Doesnt England have major problems with deer because they no longer have any predators and have reached plague proportions. Then they die from starvation. I know they want to reintroduce because of this but there are no wolves left? No one has a right to upset the whole balance, because there is no way to tell what will happen. perhaps a plague of mice that will kill the live stock? It happened here. And further more, farmers have coexisted with wolves before, how many breeds of dog exist for this reason. The farmers are being lazy and selfish. Besides as we can all see, killing a wolf can make things much worse. just look what will happen now a pack is missing one. We have had problems here with plague animals and any behaviourist will tell you shooting is not the answer. There can be no positive outcome from this, its only a quick fix solution.
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Old 25-02-2005, 11:46   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ligerwolve
No one has a right to upset the whole balance, because there is no way to tell what will happen.... any behaviourist will tell you shooting is not the answer. There can be no positive outcome from this, its only a quick fix solution.
I fully agree with your arguments, but for some people "attempts to find the best means of coexistance" means eliminating the weaker part in the conviction that immediate business returns are more important than the fate of the whole species. Unfortunately this policy is carried out without any insight into and reflexion on the long-term effects of the deed. It is sad but humans seem to have problems with learning form their own errors.

I'm sorry, perolav, but nobody will ever convince me, that coexistance=kiling, i.e. death Especially of healthy, beautiful and endangered animals. I'm also surprised your judgements rely so much on the opinions of experts. What experts? Authorities always employ specialists to confirm their policies. The smaller any population becomes, the more fragile its fate is. What will your experts say when you kill by mistake all your wolves or they die of infection or exceptionally severe winter conditions? New experts will be hired to criticise the former eggheads? Hasn't common sense always been the best expert?
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Old 25-02-2005, 20:24   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ligerwolve
Hi all, look I dont live in a country where wolves live so Im not an expert. But is it or isnt it true that wolves have an effect on the enviroment and that removing them could mean disasterous results.
I'm not an expert, and I don't know if any of us are. It's a fact that for approx 200 yrs the wolf have have not been seen in the Norwegian woods. The farmers and those others living in the area claim that reintroducing the wolf into the fauna has created a new situation. A new carnivore is harvesting the farmers income and is thratening the peoples qualitiy of life.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ligerwolve
No one has a right to upset the whole balance, because there is no way to tell what will happen. perhaps a plague of mice that will kill the live stock? It happened here. And further more, farmers have coexisted with wolves before, how many breeds of dog exist for this reason.
From the farmes point of view the balance is upset by reintroducing the wolf. The wolf has been absent for approx 200 yrs, and the way of living is quite different nowadays.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ligerwolve
The farmers are being lazy and selfish. Besides as we can all see, killing a wolf can make things much worse. just look what will happen now a pack is missing one. We have had problems here with plague animals and any behaviourist will tell you shooting is not the answer. There can be no positive outcome from this, its only a quick fix solution.
What do you mean by lazy and selfish? What do you know about Norwegian farming? What is selfish about caring for ones lifestock?

Regarding the rest of your statement: Yes it is a shame that the Norwegian Government decided to kill the wolves, in particular the Alpha female astray from her pack. The reactions from the great majority is condemning this deed.
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Old 08-09-2005, 18:22   #27
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Default Norway Approves New Wolf Hunt

Government officials in Norway have approved a new wolf hunt in Gudbrandsdalen. Norway's current wolf population is estimated at only 10-15 members. The population is so isolated that these wolves derive from only three individuals.

Strong protest is expected from Sweden, where officials there opposed Norway's last wolf hunt, conducted in the country's southeastern district known as Osterdalen, in February and March of 2001. Although Norway and Sweden have a common wolf population numbering approximately 100 animals, authorities in Stockholm maintain that at least 200 wolves - twice the existing amount - are needed to sustain the species in the two countries. Norway's last wolf hunt, conducted from helicopters, eliminated about 10 per cent of the Scandinavian wolf population.

As with Norway's last wolf hunt, it is expected that international environmental officials will join worldwide wildlife campaigners and rally in protest.

In May of 2001 wildlife officials in Finnmark (in northern Norway) decreed the country's few remaining wolves to be a major threat to that area's widespread reindeer herds. The reindeer are an important income source and part of the local Sami (Lappland) lifestyle.

No re-establishment of wolves is being allowed in Finnmark, where local hunters are permitted to track down any wolf families and kill all existing adults as well as newborn pups. A hunt is triggered at the first sign of breeding.

The new, recently approved wolf hunt in Norway is aimed at a lone wolf, known to be stationary in the Gudbrandsdalen area for over a year. This wolf is being blamed for all sheep deaths occurring within the population of more than 2 million free-ranging, unattended sheep. This wolf is also being held responsible for a number of missing goats. It has been documented in having killed only a few sheep which could have been protected by various measures - including guard dogs and electric fences.

Norway's Alpha Association (known there as Alpha-gruppen), an independent nationwide society founded in 1999 for the protection of the wolf within the Norwegian ecosystem, urges all those concerned about the new wolf hunt to express their thoughts via email. The Office of the Directorate may be addressed at [email protected] and The Minister of Environment, Mr. Borge Brende, may be contacted at [email protected]. In statements released by Alpha-gruppen, the association insists that if the currently authorized wolf hunt is not stopped it will result in no less than the total annihilation of the wolf in that country.


http://www.kerwoodwolf.com/NORWAYHUNT.htm


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Old 08-09-2005, 21:37   #28
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I know people are cruel, but I didn`t know they are so stupid to claim a lone wolf is attacking 2 milion sheeps and that 10 wolves can be a threat to caribou population.... it makes no sense, it`s just an absurdal lie they invented to justify the mass slaughter of critically endangered species...
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Old 12-09-2005, 11:53   #29
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Please sign the petition against the wolf hunts in Norway:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/399085910
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Old 12-09-2005, 22:03   #30
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I doubt a petition will change the Norwegian Governments point of view, but signing the petition will a least show our disgust.
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Old 12-09-2005, 22:16   #31
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Per, you`re from Norway, aren`t You? Don`t You know why Norwegian government is doing such things? I heard that in Your country people are afraid of wolves & You have also a very strong ranchers-lobby. Is that true? I am disappointed that a country such as Norway, that should be proud of their wildlife and nature and promote it to tourists around the world is killing the last of their 15 wolves....
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Old 15-09-2005, 21:33   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WolfHaze
Per, you`re from Norway, aren`t You? Don`t You know why Norwegian government is doing such things? I heard that in Your country people are afraid of wolves & You have also a very strong ranchers-lobby. Is that true?
Hi, regret this late answer. My soul mate Tonje who is much more fluent in English writing will in a few days post a reply regarding your questions on this forum. So please, stay tuned...
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Old 15-09-2005, 23:08   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by perolav
I doubt a petition will change the Norwegian Governments point of view, but signing the petition will a least show our disgust.
But this is the only form of other much longuer countries to show that they find this disgusting.
I find that everybody criticizing this act can change some thing.


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Old 18-09-2005, 07:51   #34
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Hello hello
After having lost this list some upgrades ago (I'm a PC nitwit), it is great to be able to respond to it again (thanks dear Per Olav for the "how to" explanation!).

About the wolf situation in Norway. It is actually not so simple. I thought I would go into some detail so you can see some of the issues involved, because not everything can be ascribed to "irrational wolf hatred from the ignorant". Also it would be interesting to see if some of you have any ideas in general because I think wolf issues may arise in Europe also. Did you follow the Tour de France this summer? One of the days they had to move the starting point because French Farmers had a protest rally at the original starting point. They were protesting against wolves - because the wolves were coming back to their region! Sounded dreadfully familiar to me..

I would like to correct some of the facts in the start of the discussion here. A wolfpack was exterminated by hunting with helicopter here several years ago - to massive protests. This year however 5 wolves were shot by giving hunting lisences to hunters. Actually 6 wolves were shot, one was shot by mistake - the alpha bitch in a protected wolf pack in the neigboring region. She had wandered across the border of the "allowed wolf sone" and was promptly shot. Again the hunting was to massive protests - people went to the hunting area following the hunters around, making lots of noise to scare the wolves away or just simply roaming around in the area so that the hunters would be afraid to risk shooting in case they hit a person. The whole place was crawling with people - hunters, protesters, police, the media - but to no avail.

About the wolf thing in Finnmark, I'm a bit at loss - I've not heard of any wolves in Finnmark (which is far far North in Norway). So I am thinking that maybe there has been a confusion of species due to language - that it is wolverine that is meant and not wolf. For many years I myself thought a wolverine was a female wolf, but that is not so! (Ah, the joy of the various languages' idiosyncracies!). The wolverine is the largest member of the family of minks, otters, stoats, matrens, ferrets etc - I think. Wolverines are an issue further North. They do prey on reindeer.

80 % of the Norwegian population want to have the large predators in Norwegian Fauna, that is the lynx, the brown bear, the wolf and the wolverine. Unfortunately the great majority of these 80 % live in the towns and suburbs and not in the rural areas where these predators actually are. People in the rural areas are fervently against (apart from the youngest - they also want to have the predators in our wild life). They say that it is all very well for the town people to be pro the predators, because they don't have to live with them. In my books that is a very valid point - it is so easy to have an opinion of something that does not affect one self!

When the wolf came back to Norway, people living in the wolf areas had no idea what that implied for their way of life. The wolf may be an efficient predator, but it certainly has no idea of humane euthanasia. Its slaughter of sheep isn't really slaughter - it is maiming. When the wolves attack sheep, they don't eat them - just rip out their innards, sometimes eating their udders, and just leave them. Many of the sheep survive but with severe suffering, and all have to be put down afterwards. The same goes for dogs. The wolves kill dogs,in general by slitting their abdomens (as with the sheep). This is of course terribly shocking. I have yet to see a picture of a wolfkilled dog that hasn't been killed by disembowling.

We have a house in a region where the wolf came back 8 - 10 years ago. In the garden to one of our neighbors there is a pathetic little grave. That is the grave of the hunting hound Lucy, the last dog to be killed by wolf here (all in all 7 dogs were killed before they realized that wolf and dog just didn't work). She was attacked appr 800 m from her house. Everyone around heard her screams, and the owner met her trying to crawl home. She was dragging her entrails after her, so he simply shot her to put her out of her misery. Since then no one here lets their dogs off leash(a part from us, but that depends on breed of dog - if it stays close to you or roams around. We are however definitely risking our dogs when we let them go, even though they in general never venture far way from us).

So that is one anti-wolf factor. The emotions involved in having a beloved dog killed in that manner. It takes time to accept that where the dogs previously could enjoy running free in the forest, far from people and cars or anyone getting annoyed by loose dogs, it is advisable and safest to keep dogs on leash.

The second anti-wolf factor is the sheep farmers. Having sheep is a way to make a living, it is a job. In Norway the traditional practise is to let the sheep go free in the forests and mountains for summer grazing. They are not guarded in any way, because there have not been predators here in Norway the last hundred - hundred and fifty years! We have severe rules for keeping dogs on leash in sheep districts. A loose dog can actually be shot on sight in sheep areas! From an animal welfare point of view this is a terrible practise (appr 130 000 sheep die each year from injuries, disease, accidents - and predators - but only a very low number can be associated with the wolf).

However, the sheep farmers economy depends on that way of keeping sheep. They can not afford to use shepherds, they can not afford to move the sheep each day between grazing area and safe pens during night because such moving causes the sheep to loose slaughter weight. The sheep breed itself is ill equipped to handle predator attacks, both physically and behaviorwise, eg they have low herding instinct and spread out over large areas (due to the meager grazing), they do not herd together and defend themselves when attacked but just run in wild panic.

The sheep farmer can not make another type of living of his land, because in those regions there is not soil or weather suited for growing things or really for keeping other livestock. This is also the preferred habitat for wolf. So when the wolves move in, sheep farming is actually impossible as it is done today. One could of course say, OK the sheep farmers need to move and get work another place. That is not simple. They can not sell their farms (that also icludes forests for timber) freely, because farms are regulated here in Norway. They can only sell their farm to someone who will continue with the farming/forestry, and they can only sell at a ridiculously low price. All their capital is sunk in the farm, so they are actually destitute if they give up the farm. As for getting work elsewhere. there is very little work to be got in these districts, they would have to move to the towns and work can be hard to come by.

So of course the sheep farmers fight against wolves (and actually bears, lynx and wolverines, but little attention is paid to these species by the media or rest of the public). They are fighting for their livelihood and that is understandable.

The third factor is wolf habituation, i.e. that they become less and less shy of human activity. Some farmers have tried keeping their sheep close to the house, but the wolves will still come and kill the sheep. Wolves have been known to come into the yard and kill the dog. In one instance a wolf pack killed 18 sheep only some hundred meters from the local school - during daytime. People have been told that wolves fear humans more than anything and will stay away from people - but of course that is a truth with modifications - the wolf is extremely intelligent and finds out that it can get at easy meals even in the vicinity of humans because the humans are not really that dangerous... When the wolves then behave in such a way, people become distrustful of the experts and fear for their children. They can see no reason why the wolf wouldn't one day try to kill a child. And one does not under any circumstance put one's child at risk. So far nothing is being done to fight the habituation effect, i.e. teaching the wolves to be scared of humans and their living quarters.

I personally fault the Norwegian authorities and the politicians. Norway has promised internationally to protect the wolf - and that I think is just a great scam! The politicians have found out a "great way" to keep both wolves and sheep farmers without having to solve the sheep farmers' issues - or actually giving much thought to formal procedures to reduce problems like habituation. They have determined regions in Norway that are to be "wolf sones" where the wolf is protected. In these regions people are not encouraged to keep sheep - for instance they are not recompensated for sheep killed by wolf as they are other places. In principle the wolf is protected in all of Norway, but people can apply for dispensation outside the predefined wolf sones. That is what happened in the last wolf hunt. The 5 wolves were living outside the wolf sone wherefore the authorities allowed the hunting! So the wolf is protected in Norway on paper- but in reality not!

You can send protest mails to the Minister of Environment here in Norway (don't know yet who that will be, we had election last Monday with a change of government) til kingdom come, but I don't think that will help at all. They are very used to it, having recieved such mails in enormous quantities for many years.. International pressure from other countries themselves, i.e. formal protests and threats of consequences in commerce, is the only thing that will help at the moment I think.

I find Norway's attitude in the wolf issue both shameful and disgusting. In the early seventies Norway was one of the countries that insisted that India protect its tigers. At that time I think tigers killed appr 1100 people in India, but Norway was adamnant that the tiger should be protected
anyway. The wolves here kill no one, and yet we don't really protect them - just pretend to. It would be better that Norway came straight out with a honest "No, we can't/don't really want to protect the wolf" and take the international consequences or really did protect the wolves.

However, I am actutally a bit optimistic regarding the wolf. In time I think things will be done. As mentioned above, the young people in the rural areas are pro wolf and they are the next generation farmers. They will probably not insist on the previous way of life, seeing other possibilities. If the authorities make those feasible, for instance by changing the economic legislation for farmers, that antiwolf argument can be buried. Also every time there is a new wolf hunt, the protests are still more vigorous and more serious. Last time the Swedish authorities protested, next time perhaps even more countries will protest! Sooner or later the authorities will knacker down and make the legislation necessary for the protection of wolf, also in such a way that people are not made destitute or fear for their children's lives.

Well, this is my point of view (and a lengthy one at that..). I should add this may not be Per Olav's point of view (I don't know) and perhaps I have some of the facts wrong (everything written out of memory) so I hope Per Olav will correct any mistakes!

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Old 18-09-2005, 08:56   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonje
. I should add this may not be Per Olav's point of view (I don't know) and perhaps I have some of the facts wrong (everything written out of memory) so I hope Per Olav will correct any mistakes!
Thank you, Tonje, for this well written analysis of the Norwegian "wolf situation" which in every way correspond with my point of view

So, dear members of this list, any comments
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Old 18-09-2005, 10:04   #36
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Default Norway approves new wolf hunt

Hi Tonje,

thanks a lot for telling us about the situation in Norway. It`s very interesting.

We all have to learn that animals adjust to new circumstances. In Germany racoons, foxes and wild boars "conquer" the villages and cities.

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Old 18-09-2005, 17:22   #37
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Hello Tonje,

there are several European countries with wild wolfes coming back to areas that have been wolf-free for a very long time. We had several sheep killlings here in Germany. Luckily our goverment is (or at least was regarding the votings today) strict in protecting endangered species. Looking back at succesfull wolfprotecting campains in USA and Slowakia lifestock guarding dogs have been introduced to the shepherds and sheeps in our country together with electrical fencing ( in Slowakia and USA they used only the dogs). The results have always been extremly good. Dogs and fences are paid by wolfprotection associations. The wolf is quite accepted in this regions now and the people living in this area have realised that wolfes are very good for touristik puposes. In Slowakia the livestock guarding dogs have been as succesfull. They have been introduced (and in the beginning been paid) by a German association and the shepherds and ranchers are quite happy with the effect, we talked to one of them two years ago and the killings by wolfes and bears went down from about 50 per year to about 2. Lifestock guarding dogs help with bears too so they should work with wolferines. Ray Coppinger who started the projects and research on it in USA was very succesfull too, his experiences have been the reason ist was tried in Europe.
We had dogs and sheeps been killed in Bavaria where we lived till some days ago, actually one of our own sheeps was killed next to our house. What irritates me very much in your description is the way those animals have been killed in Norway. It may be that a dog being attacked by a pack is hurt that way but normal prey is usually killed by one bite in the throat. If a pack is going for them every wolf has its part in catching and therefore biting the animal but the killing is done by biting the throat. The guts are pulled out when the animal is dead. One point you look at if you want to know if a dog or a wolf has killed the animal is looking for the killing method. The way animals have been killed in Norway is typical for feral dogs not wolfs. When Erik Zimen started his Italian research project they found out that very many animals that were reported as wolfkills by farmers hat been killed by everything else, including dogs, but not wolfes.

If your protection societies need contacts to Ray Coppinger or other associations for lifestock guarding projects we can help you with that.

Regards Ina
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Old 18-09-2005, 17:59   #38
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Hi Ina.

I do think Tonje has expressed both sides of the Norwegian "wolf problem" in a very objective way. Picts from sheep slaughters show killings in the way Tonje describes and there is no doubt that this is beeing done by wolf or wolves.

I have, by the way, challenged one of Norways most reputed wolf behaviourists, Mr Runar Naess to join our litte discussion. Hopefully we soon will meet him on this forum
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Old 19-09-2005, 23:25   #39
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First of all, thanks to Perolav for assuring that we have a variety of opinions about this situation expressed on the forum.

Thanks also to Tonje for her careful analysis of the situation in Norway. As in every issue there are two sides in this argument. Perhaps the one thing that I still wonder about is who actually authorizes these wolf hunts. I have the feeling that the local as opposed to the national authorities organizes them. Local politicians will be looking to cater to the local people, that is the farmers, rather than to the majority opinion in the country.

I would dare to look at the behaviour of the wolf a little more carefully… and to think that men ought to learn better how to live with this predator.

You point out the fact that wolves kill in a savage way that often results in the maiming of the sheep. Disembowelment is not a pretty thing. However, from the point of view of the wolf it is efficient.

It has been observed in the wild, that wolves may on occasion kill more prey than they can comfortably feed on in a given moment. Some have seen this behaviour as showing that the wolf is a vicious and wasteful predator – this however is not the case, the wolves will inerrably return to the kill and feed again till the prey is consumed. Unfortunately farmers never give the wolves this chance, thus the wolves come, kill a sheep, the farmer retrieves the carcass and when he returns the wolf kills again, a wasteful exercise both for man and wolf.

Then there are the ways in which one can protect a flock from sheep. One rather interesting technique is the use of so called livestock guarding dogs (LGD). This has been tried in Norway though interestingly the main problem were bears, lynx, foxes and wolverines, not wolves.

I have always found the argument of farmers fighting for their livelihood against the wolves to be not quite correct, at least in areas (such as most of Norway) where farmers are compensated for wolf kills. Of course, there may be kills which cannot be clearly established as wolf kills and there may be some loss of revenue to the farmer because of this, but there is bound to be a loss of animals in any such exploitation, be it to predators, accidents or disease.

Unfortunately the problem of predation by the wolf is not the issue here. If predation was the real issue, then you would be hearing of great programs to manage bear and lynx populations which seem to be the true predators on the Norwegian herds, with wolves representing only a small fractions of the kills caused by other predators.

The issue here is the legend of the wolf, the primeval fear that seems to have been burned into the collective psyche or mankind. It is not merely a coincidence that Norway is the home of many legends, one of which is that of Fenris, chained forever by Gleipnir but only after having severed the hand of Tyr… Forever the symbol of evil vanquished at a great price. That is the reason why logic and arguments do not really work against fear. Logically one cannot expect the wolf population of Norway to pose any real threat to herding activities on a national scale (though admittedly individual herds may be affected – hence the importance of the compensation regime by the government) But that simply is not the point here.

How does one reverse this trend? Well not in one or two years, this is the work of generations, and I find it very encouraging that Tonje pointed out that the younger generations, even in the countryside tend to be more in favour of protecting the wolf.

Unfortunately, that sort of timescale is simply not available. With a very small population the Scandinavian wolf is perilously close to extinction, Only a few hundred individuals remain, mainly in Sweden.

So what can be done? Certainly there is pressure which is mounting in Norway to protect the wolves, in fact the government has been taken to court over the killing of six wolves earlier this year. Expressions of concern to Norwegian authorities (be they to the various Norwegian public officials, or to the Norwegian embassies in our various countries) are unlikely to have a major effect.

Perhaps more effective would be the drawing of international censure upon Norway. After all many other countries in Europe are going on with wolf conservation programs, including Sweden. These countries do so often with less resources than Norway, it would be perhaps adequate to remind the Norwegian authorities of their responsibility under the various international agreements which they have signed, which include the protection of the wolf.

I would recommend writing to the members of the European parliament about this issue – you may be surprised how effective this can be. You can find out how to do this here: www.europarl.eu.int
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Old 20-09-2005, 16:21   #40
Per Olav
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Default Carnivores and sheep farming in Norway

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http://www.rosa.no/OP%20443%20Linnel...20measures.pdf
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