The number of wolf protection hunts granted is already as many as in the whole of last year. Östergötland has had thirteen wolf attacks on livestock and decided on protective hunting six times.
– These are animals that you hang out with for a long time and when something hurts them, well damn I felt really bad, says Sven Olsson, a sheep farmer who was attacked by wolves.
When sheep farmer Sven Olsson in Ringarum in Östergötland went out into the sheep pasture on a Saturday morning in August, he was met by dead sheep. A wolf had attacked the pasture during the night, a ewe was already dead, another ewe and a lamb had to be euthanized due to their injuries.
– I never thought I would rule the way I did. You can shrug your shoulders at three animals out of sixty that walked here then, but that’s not the case. These are animals that you hang out with for a long time and when something hurts them, well damn I felt really bad in a way I didn’t think, says Sven Olsson.
70 may die after the wolf attacks
The attack on Sven’s sheep is one of a total of 13 wolf attacks in Östergötland so far this year. About 70 sheep have died or had to be euthanized. In the whole of Sweden, so far this year, decisions have been made to protect wolves on 25 occasions, already as many decisions as in the whole of last year. This despite the fact that the latest wolf inventory showed that the number of wolves in the country has decreased.
In Östergötland, a protective hunt for wolves was not announced once in 2023, during 2024 six decisions have been made so far, although some of the decisions apply to the same wolf when the protective hunt is extended.
– We have many tools to work with this. We have information meetings, we give advice and are out talking to the farmers in these areas. But when we see no other solution than to move on to protective hunting to prevent further damage to domestic animals, then we need to go there, says Kristoffer Hellberg, deputy. head of department for animals, rural areas and food, County Administrative Board Östergötland.
Changed watershed guidelines
In May, the guidelines were changed so that fewer attacks are now needed before protective hunting becomes relevant. But these are only guidelines and the County Administrative Boards decide on a case-by-case basis.
– We have had so many attacks and it has been clear which individuals it has been, so we would probably have come to the same decision with the previous guidelines. We may have been able to act a little faster with the new guidelines, says Kristoffer Hellberg.
Sven Olsson is divided about the effectiveness of the new guidelines.
– It is still the county board that tests and you still have a fear of new things. So it will take a while before this settles down. In a way, it is positive that the opportunity for protective hunting has been expanded, but it also shows that this problem has increased, says Sven Olsson.