A short time ago, Wolf Education International (WEI) staff posted a link to an article that asked the question, “Should Finland’s Wolves be Hunted or Protected?” As is always the hope and intent of WEI it began a conversation with others and the result is more commentary and links provided. Below is a summary, as best as we can do, that we hope readers will be able to sift through and glean quality information.
In reference to the article linked to above, a member of our WEI staff, residing in Finland, made the following comment:
Yes it’s a good article. I have met some of the people mentioned in the article and I am fully aware of their situation. The rural population [of wolves] in Finland is scattered around the woods in small villages or houses far from cities and business centers. There are no borders or fences separating the wilderness from human settlements thus a house or a village may be a part of a wolf pack’s territory. The wolves (or whatever they are) [the existence of hybrid or crossbred wild canines] get habituated to humans which, in turn, results in a growing number of attacks against cattle and sheep under the cover of darkness as well during dawn, dusk, and night. The appearance of wolves in settled areas in broad daylight seems to be more and more the rule rather than the exception.
