According to the Finnish League for Nature Conservation and the environmental organisation WWF Finland, the Lappeenranta Ylämaa wolf pack should be completely removed in order to stop the risk of spreading.
The Finnish League for Nature Conservation and the environmental organisation WWF Finland are proposing an amendment to the law that would give the authorities sufficient powers to hunt wolverines quickly and effectively. The organisations say it is important to include such an amendment in the government programme.
According to the organisations, however, there must be sufficient evidence of the presence of wolverines before they can be hunted. It is important that animals suspected of being wolverines are immediately reported to the authorities and that DNA samples are taken, for example from faeces or hairs.
In the case of the wolves that have now been found in the Highlands, the organisations call for the appeal against the derogation to be dealt with as quickly as possible, so that the wolves can be removed before spring and the wolf breeding season. Since the appearance of an individual does not allow for a definite identification of the wolf pack, in practice the only way to prevent the risk of wolves spreading is to remove the entire Highland herd.
The Forestry Union already cried foul earlier
At the end of February, the Hunters’ Association petitioned to renew the legislation on the removal of canines.
It described the executive ban on the removal of canines from Lappeenranta’s Highlands as incomprehensible.
Eastern Finland’s administrative court suspended the so-called Upland herd hunt due to a complaint drawn up by the Nature Conservation Society Tapiola-Karelia.
It is a herd of eight animals moving near the eastern border, including a wolf. The Finnish Game Agency granted an exemption to kill the pack, which was intended to protect the genetic purity of the wolf population.
Riistakeskus granted the first exemption permit for hunting the herd at the end of 2022. The hunt did not have time to start then, because the South Karelia Nature Conservation District of the Finnish Nature Conservation Union appealed the application and the permit expired.
The Riistakeskus issued a new permit in the second week of February, but hunting is no longer allowed due to a new complaint.