Swedish government to dramatically reduce wolf population

Biodiversity

Published 22 October 2024
- By Editorial Staff
According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, at least 300 wolves are required for the species to have a favourable conservation status.

The government wants to reduce Sweden’s wolf population from the current 375 to just 170 individuals, saying it wants to take greater account of people living in the wolf’s neighbourhood.

The conservation status of species listed in the Habitats Directive is reported to the EU every six years, with the next report due next year. One of the things this report says is how large populations need to be for the species to have a favourable conservation status.

The government now wants to decide that this reference value for wolves should be 170 individuals, and says it wants to take more account of people living closer to wolf populations.

– Predator policy must take into account all people who live and work near wolves. Sweden’s management of the wolf population must be both ecologically and socially sustainable, states climate and environment minister Romina Pourmokhtari, in a press release.

According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), there are currently around 375 wolves in Sweden, and the first step is to reduce the wolf population to 270 individuals. After that, the population will be reduced to 170 as soon as possible.

The wolf is currently protected in Sweden, but can be hunted under protection and with a licence, and a previous study by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency concluded that at least 300 wolves are needed for the species to reach a favourable conservation status.

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