A few more wolves have been shot in Southern- and Eastern Norway in recent weeks, including one in the mountains above Ringsaker and another in Søndre Land. A total of 12 were authorized to be gunned down in Hedmark, Oslo, Akershus and Østfold, but six have escaped so far.
The hunters have until May 31 to track them down, along with another five authorized in the former Oppland County. The goal “is to take out wolves that can pose a threat to free-grazing livestock,” Eirik Ola Helstad of the state wildlife agency Statens Naturoppsyn in Southern Norway told state broadcaster NRK.
Local mayors are getting worried that it will be “a bloody summer” if more wolves aren’t shot and more livestock is attacked. As snow melts, wolves will be more difficult to track down.
“Hunting wolves in the summer is almost hopeless,” lamented Merete Myhre Moen of the Center Party, which champions farmers’ interests over wildlife. Conservationists at WWF Norge wish the authorized hunting period was already over.
NewsInEnglish.no staff
