Updated 19:43 | Published 19:24
Eight fatal wolf attacks have occurred in Sjuhärad and Skaraborg this year.
In the most recent one, over 50 sheep and lambs were killed and injured.
Pet owners in the area now live in fear of more attacks.
– I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, says affected Tilda.
When Tilda went out into the pasture at Hallåkra Gård in Herrljunga on Wednesday last week, she was met by a horror scenario.
She describes how slaughtered lambs searched for their mothers, about how animals with torn windpipes gasped for breath and masses of bodies lying motionless on the ground.
– Of course you have heard of attacks, but you can’t really imagine the panic, stress and anxiety. It was chaos. I was basically as pale in the face all day, she says.
– It was horrible. It’s terrible.
28 sheep and lambs died in the attack.
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28 sheep and lambs died in the attack…
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Great suffering
They have now set up a hospital where 23 bitten and torn animals receive treatment.
– The hope is very high that they will manage and survive. But there can always be bad infections and there can be more trauma on the inside than is showing right now.
Suffering is great at Hallåkra farm.
Both financially and emotionally.
– We are newly started and it is our breeding herd that has had to give life to it. We have lost a lot of individuals from a breeding point of view. Sure, it’s good compensation but we’ve put time, energy and love into these animals. It is not possible to simply exchange for money and buy new ones.
But in addition to the sadness, there is also a growing fear and frustration in the area:
Wolf attacks are increasing – and the feeling is that not enough is being done about them.
“Wake up all night”
Ulrik Blomdahl, 54, is a neighbor of the affected farm.
He too has animals out to graze and is afraid of further attacks.
– You don’t go out and walk the dog in the forest anymore. The bastard, I lie awake all night and check on the animals as soon as they hiss.
The County Administrative Board, which decides on protective hunting, should not be blamed for the situation, says Blomdahl.
– They do an incredibly good job out here. But they are tied back by government decisions and environmental organizations that constantly put sticks in the wheels.
Do you think that the county administrative board should be mandated to shoot more wolves?
– Yes, and heavily. A problem is building that no one will be able to deal with.
Tilda agrees that something must happen.
– Now there is so much that it is not possible to look the other way. Something must be done now that actually works, says Tilda, who has now canceled the planned vacation to, among other things, secure the fence.
The County Administrative Board: “Much concern”
Nelly Grönberg, predator handler and inventory manager at the county board’s game unit in Västra Götaland, says that the wolf attacks on sheep this year have been more in Sjuhärad and Skaraborg than usual.
– There have been eight attacks since January 1 in these areas. Approximately 90 sheep were dead when we arrived or had such severe injuries that they had to be euthanized.
There have been no wolf attacks in other places in the county this year.
She believes that it is a serious situation for animal owners in the affected area.
– There is a lot of concern about this. Within a radius of a few miles, there have been several attacks, and sheep owners naturally think that it could be their own that will be affected next. Of course it’s serious.
“Can see further decisions”
On Tuesday last week, the county administrative board decided on protective hunting of a wolf individual. So it was the day before the latest attack.
This wolf is said to have attacked sheep on previous occasions.
Now the county administrative board is waiting for a dna analysis if it is the same wandering wolf that has attacked again. Depending on what the results show, the protective hunting area may possibly be expanded or more individuals may be involved.
– Protective hunting is not done to reduce the number of wolves in the landscape, but to kill a specific individual or several, says Nelly Grönberg.
– Should it turn out to be another harmful individual, then further decisions can be made.
Do you feel that you are being held back from being able to make adequate decisions on protected hunting issues?
– I would say that development has moved forward. We have good discussions with all the parties involved. There is a fairly large understanding that we are coming to the end of the road with some wolf individuals.
– In a way, it is clear that the legislation limits us and steers us into a trap. But we are also meant to have a team room, a certain corridor, for us to operate in and make decisions.
– The only thing we can do now is follow the development.