Sweden will Kill Hundreds of Lynx After Massive Wolf Hunt

These licensed hunts will continue despite being questionably legal.

Photo by Sascha Bosshard on Unsplash.

Following this years historic wolf hunt, the Swedish Government announced in February that it will now be culling over two hundred wild lynx in the country — dealing another blow to the conservation movement.

As reported by The Guardian, the licenses issued by the Government allow for the killing of 201 lynx. This is more than double the number of previous years, and represents roughly 14% of the total population in the country, which is estimated to be 1,450 animals.

Conservation groups, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), were quick to denounce the licenses as illegal and unethical.

While wolf hunting is argued on the basis of public safety and protecting livestock, lynx do not pose a significant threat to people nor livestock given that they mostly hunt small prey. Therefore, it is highly likely that these culling licenses are in breach of the (EU) Habitats Directive.

The Swedish hunters’ association, Svenska Jägareförbundet, has inclusively admitted that the animals do not pose a danger to humans and that the hunt is “more about the excitement”.