Norway’s environmental minister Vidar Helgesen has just approved the biggest wolf hunt in Norway for a hundred years. Only 52-56 wolves live in Norway, but the minister wants 42 of them to be shot this winter, among them two important family packs in Osdalen and Julussa, near the border to Sweden. This is the second winter in a row that such a major cull has been allowed – but last year’s was prevented after a major popular and international outcry.
The planned wolf hunt will eradicate almost all Norwegian wolves. The Norwegian government is acting against international obligations under the Bern Convention, as well as breaching Norwegian law and decisions made by the parliament. They use the fact that there are more wolves in Sweden as an excuse to justify the greatest cull in a hundred years.
The Oslo District Court ordered a temporary stop in hunting, until the court case was decided upon. Despite this, the government altered their decision slightly, so that they now can continue the hunt.
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