1500 cows will be kept indoors for 18 months to study how they are affected. One of the reasons for this is that the Swedish Farmers’ Union (LRF) has been working for some time to remove the grazing rights that exist in Sweden for cows, and together with Växa Sverige has succeeded in obtaining approval for the study from the Uppsala Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee.
Already in 2021, the association Växa Sverige together with LRF applied to start a study to investigate how it affected 2500 cows to be kept inside for a longer period, even during the grazing period. The application was made to the Gothenburg Animal Experimentation Ethics Board, which immediately stopped the project. The motivation for this was that it was noted that it was already known that cows benefit from being outdoors, through previous research, and that it was therefore not justified to expose the animals to suffering in order to investigate something that was already known, and which could not contribute to improvements for animals in the future.
In January this year, a new application was submitted, but this time to the Uppsala Animal Experimentation Ethics Board, where the number of cows was reduced to 1500. The study would involve the cows being indoors 24 hours a day for 18 months. The purpose has been stated to be to “investigate whether, and if so how, the welfare of dairy cows changes month by month during an 18-month period of housing”, writes Djurskyddet, which has taken note of the application.
The reasoning is that the study should be carried out because Sweden should increase its self-sufficiency in dairy products, but that current grazing rules have a negative impact in some cases. While the Board said that “the benefits of the study could outweigh the suffering of the animals”, it also considered that “the applicant does not convincingly demonstrate this” and therefore rejected the application.
In April, a third application was made, this time to the Uppsala Animal Experimentation Ethics Board, where, at the Board’s request, the application was amended and made more specific.
The application has now been approved, which means that 1500 cows on Swedish farms will be kept indoors in loose housing for 18 months, including during the summer months. Seven herds have currently been recruited, says Växa Sverige in a press release. These are located in Västra Götaland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Gävleborg and Uppsala counties. They will then see how the cows are affected by this and predict that this will have a major impact on Sweden’s future milk production.
– As the person in charge of the study, I am pleased that the Board has thoroughly examined our application and reached the same conclusions as we did about the current lack of knowledge, says Fredrik von Unge, Vana’s trial manager.
For some time now, Sweden has had a law that allows cows to come out during the summer and have so-called “grazing rights”. As early as 2020, LRF started a campaign against removing the cows’ ability to graze and argued that they should instead be kept indoors, as reported by Natursidan. The association has been heavily criticized for this, with organic farmers saying it was “shameful”. Even the Christian Democrats and the Moderates have, for example, in a survey from Djurskyddet in 2022, responded that they are in favor of abolishing the grazing right.
– We hope that the study provides a clear and scientific basis for good animal husbandry throughout the year. For one thing we have known for a long time: healthy and well-behaved animals produce more and better, says Peter Kofoed, head of LRF Mjölk.
The results of the study are expected to be available in 2024.
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Bans on dangerous PFAS substances have shown results in Sweden’s major lakes. However, levels still remain above limit values in Lake Vättern.
PFAS are environmental toxins often called “forever chemicals” because they break down very slowly and therefore accumulate in soil, water, animals and even humans.
Certain PFAS substances can be harmful to humans, with several studies having pointed to their potential to cause cancer, liver damage, impaired reproductive ability, intestinal diseases and thyroid disorders, among other health issues.
It was recently discovered that Swedish wild animals have unusually high levels of these substances, with forest voles among others likely suffering liver damage due to the forever chemicals.
Decreased since the 2000s
In a new study conducted by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, commissioned by the Water Conservation Associations, researchers measured the occurrence of these substances in fish in Swedish lakes. This was done using samples from the museum’s environmental sample bank, which dates back to the early 1970s.
The results show that PFAS levels have generally decreased in Swedish lakes. In Lake Mälaren and Lake Vänern, levels have decreased since the early 2000s, and in Lake Vättern since 2008.
Problems remain
The reason for the decrease is believed to be the international banning of the most well-known PFAS substances. However, Arctic char in Lake Vättern still exceed the Water Framework Directive’s limit value for PFOS, one of the PFAS substances that has been banned.
— Our results show that measures and bans have had an effect, but also that the PFAS problem is far from solved, says Suzanne Faxneld from the Environmental Analysis and Research unit at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, in a press release.
Stricter limit values for these chemicals are now being discussed in the EU. If these are implemented, Faxneld believes that Sweden’s major lakes will exceed the new limit values. The study shows that preparations should be made for stricter regulations from the EU.
— It’s also very important to prevent these substances from entering the environment in the first place, she says.
Restoring nature means letting it return to the wild – releasing control and allowing natural processes to develop. In Denmark, cattle and horses graze freely year-round as part of ambitious rewilding projects to recreate original ecosystems.
However, the method has created a difficult balancing act: while the projects demonstrably benefit biodiversity, they draw strong criticism from animal welfare organizations who argue that the animals are subjected to unnecessary suffering.
Knutshoved Odde is a 30-kilometer-long peninsula located near Vordingborg, about 90 kilometers southwest of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area was formed during the Ice Age and consisted until the 1800s of natural pastures, water holes, and wetlands – as evidenced by historical maps. Since then, large parts have been converted to agricultural land through drainage, stone removal, and filling of natural depressions in the landscape.
The rewilding project LIFE Clima-Bombin, which started in 2019, primarily aimed to restore the natural environment that previously existed, and then preserve it – something they have now succeeded in doing. This was made possible with funding from the EU’s LIFE fund and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. To restore the natural lands, they began by recreating the landscape from the ground up. Agricultural land has been transformed by replacing large quantities of stones and sowing seeds with wild grassland species.
— We want to recreate what we call ‘The Old Country’. That is, the landscape as it looked before 1800, when the medieval landscape contained water holes, pastures, and large, scattered oaks. Denmark was intensively grazed for 6,000 years until the king sold his land. At the beginning of the 19th century, everything changed to agriculture and dark forests. And then almost all our biodiversity disappeared, said Peer Ravn, who is a partner in the project, to the Danish Society for Nature Conservation in 2023.
The biggest change occurred when they removed the pumps that had drained the land, and now six islands have emerged after restoring the water areas. To create more biodiversity, they also have cattle and horses grazing in the areas year-round.
Now nature has returned to Knutshoved Odde. The area, which was previously poor in plants, now blooms colorfully in summer. Since the wetlands were restored, more and more breeding birds have arrived each year. The area is also an important habitat for all species of Denmark’s endangered amphibians, whose habitats were previously threatened by flooding. Now the frogs have better conditions with the restored water holes.
The agricultural land has now returned to its former state – by recreating the land and letting nature have free rein, it has relatively quickly taken hold again, where biodiversity now flourishes.
At Saksfjed Vildmark, cattle graze freely. Photo: Saksfjed Vildmark/FB
Domesticated grazing animals
The grazing animals are a central part of nature restoration as they perform so-called “natural disturbances” similar to those that existed when more large grazing animals lived freely in Europe. The Knutshoved Odde area is a completed and successful project where grazing animals were used, but far from the only rewilding project in Denmark.
The Saksfjed Vildmark project is an ongoing and relatively new project – started in 2023. It is an 800-hectare area in southern Lolland, which here too was previously agricultural land. There they have restored wetlands, sown wild species, and also introduced grazing livestock and horses.
The area is a Natura 2000 area and is described as one of the largest rewilding projects underway in Denmark. The agricultural land is gone and now the site is rich in species and biodiversity, something they claim has been made possible largely by the grazing animals.
At Saksfjed Vildmark today there are Galloway cattle, Exmoor horses, and Tauros cattle. They graze down the vegetation and thereby prevent overgrowth, trample up soil, and promote biodiversity.
– Even if we don’t see the animals, we can see that they have been here. They have made a path through this former reed sea. The horses have scratched themselves on this birch, they have scraped with their hooves on the ground so that sandy patches have formed, and they have grazed off the green leaves up to over a meter’s height, which creates a semi-open landscape, explains Jens Thorvig Andersen, who is a nature interpreter at the area, for Naturpodden.
Since ecological conditions have changed over the past hundred years, carbon dioxide and nitrogen emissions have also increased dramatically. This means that larger and faster-growing plants take over the landscape, such as grass, thistles, and nettles. But when large animals graze, it affects the landscape and gives small plants greater advantages to flourish.
Starving animals are shot
There are more ongoing rewilding projects in Denmark where grazing animals are used to promote biodiversity. The animals are allowed to live completely freely within fenced areas and often receive no supplementary feed, which in practice means they must fend for themselves. The animals also don’t have the same supervision requirements normally required and live essentially their lives outside human hands – who only check on them from a distance.
This has sparked strong criticism, particularly against the Mols Laboratory, which is a kind of field laboratory in Mols Bjerge National Park in southeastern Jutland, Denmark. There, since 2016, they have let livestock and horses roam freely year-round in a rewilding project, but it hasn’t gone entirely smoothly.
During 2023, starvation among the animals was reported and that the food available in nature simply wasn’t sufficient. A large part of the vegetation is also toxic to horses and cattle, such as ragwort.
All animals at risk of starving to death were shot instead – a total of 67 percent of the animals between 2019-2020.
– At the Mols Laboratory, the animals never get older than six years, said equine veterinarian Lotte Bøgedal to Djurskyddet (Swedish animal welfare magazine) in 2023.
It is primarily the Mols Laboratory that has received strong criticism regarding its grazing wild-living animals, and it’s unclear whether all rewilding projects have exactly the same conditions for the animals. However, a common component seems to be that the animals take care of themselves, without supplementary feeding, year-round.
Horses grazing freely in August this year at the Mols Laboratory. Photo: Molslaboratoriet/FB
Animal welfare or nature conservation
All these nature restoration projects in Denmark can see clear benefits from the year-round grazing animals in the form of rich and varied nature that has re-emerged – but the animal welfare issue becomes complex and challenging, especially in a society where animal rights carry increasing weight. Risk of starvation and suffering cannot be ruled out when animals live essentially as wild animals, but at the same time they cannot be classified as wild since they are both fenced and domesticated.
It simply becomes an animal welfare law issue, since in practice it would be illegal for, for example, a private person to keep animals in a similar way. Denmark has animal welfare laws, including that animals’ needs must always be met, which includes access to food. However, they passed a new law in 2021 that can allow animals living fenced in national parks to “regulate their population naturally according to food availability.” To implement the law, however, one must apply for an exemption from the animal welfare law. According to Bøgedal, the field laboratory had at least not received such an exemption in 2023.
Morten DD Hansen, who works at the Mols Laboratory, believes the criticism is not “unexpected” but nevertheless points out that it is not illegal to keep animals as they do at the field laboratory.
“Many people feel sorry for the animals, but we prioritize letting the animals live as wildly as possible and interact with the varied nature as unregulated as possible. Research is conducted on the animals’ behavior and when this work is finished it will naturally be published”, he writes to Djurskyddet.
Reintroduction of wild animals
In Sweden and other parts of Europe, work has been done to reintroduce European bison in forests for nature conservation purposes. The idea is that it should benefit biodiversity by, among other things, counteracting overgrowth and creating habitats for many endangered species. In Sweden, the reintroduction is still in a preliminary study phase.
The difference there, however, is that European bison are a wild species that previously existed in Swedish forests, while the animals kept free in Denmark are domesticated animals. Arguments from an animal welfare perspective can therefore be that bison are created for the wild, while the other animals are too domesticated to fend for themselves. Additionally, Sweden is considering supplementary feeding of the bison initially to reduce the risk of starvation.
Despite the criticism, Danish rewilding projects continue to develop successfully. While the results for biodiversity are clearly positive, the challenge remains of how animal welfare should be guaranteed in these semi-wild environments. The debate reflects a larger discussion about where the line is drawn between nature’s own processes and human responsibility for the animals that humans once domesticated.
Finland’s wolf population increased markedly last year – significantly more than in previous years. The largest growth occurred in the western parts of the country.
In March last year, the number of wolves in Finland was estimated at 295 individuals. By March this year, the figure had grown to 430. The numbers are estimates based on recorded observations, DNA monitoring, and data on wolf mortality. The number of wolves could therefore be between 413 and 465 individuals.
— The number of individuals has grown by a full 46 percent compared to last year, so it’s a really dramatic increase, says researcher Mia Valtonen at the Finnish Natural Resources Institute to Yle.
The wolf population has increased mainly in western Finland, particularly in the southwestern parts. However, wolves have been observed in significantly larger areas than before, even in places where they have never been seen previously.
In Scandinavia, the wolf has long been considered threatened and has had strong protection, but in May the EU Parliament approved a downgrading of the wolf’s protection status. This means that population management hunting could now be permitted in Finland, something that Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah has strongly advocated for.
— Without population management hunting, the number of wolves is calculated to increase to 557 individuals in November and 436 in March next year. With population management hunting, there would of course be fewer, says Samu Mäntyniemi, leading researcher at the Natural Resources Institute.
The Baltic Sea is in such poor condition that even fishing bans are insufficient to save fish stocks, according to a new EU report. Today, EU ministers will hold a crisis meeting in Stockholm, Sweden to discuss the situation.
In about a month, EU countries must decide on fishing quotas for the Baltic Sea for next year. However, a new report commissioned by the EU ahead of this decision-making process, written by fisheries expert Christian Möllmann from the University of Hamburg, Germany, concludes that the current system implemented in the Baltic Sea is not working as intended.
“The MAP has largely failed to achieve its objective of restoring and maintaining harvested species populations above MSY levels”, the report states.
Furthermore, Möllmann warns that even a complete fishing ban in the Baltic Sea would not be sufficient for fish stocks to recover.
“A fast recovery of cod and open sea herring stocks is unlikely even under a fishing ban”.
On Tuesday, a meeting will be held in Stockholm where fisheries and climate ministers, commissioners, and various EU parliamentarians from Baltic Sea countries will gather to discuss the situation. Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall will lead the meeting together with her fisheries counterpart Costas Kadis.
— We all know that the Baltic Sea is in very poor condition and has been for a long time. But I think there is much greater cooperation between countries today, Roswall told Swedish news agency TT.
