Wolf hunts may increase the harms they aim to prevent

Wolf hunting may not reduce livestock losses or dangerous encounters with people, and could even make some problems worse, Yle reports. The effects of last winter’s quota hunt remain largely unknown, and a similar hunt is likely to take place this coming winter.

Hunting was intended to reduce damage to domestic animals and risks to public safety, limit inbreeding, protect forest reindeer calves and remove wolf-dog hybrids. But there is still little evidence about whether it achieved those aims, said Otso Huitu, a research professor of large carnivore ecology at the Natural Resources Institute Finland.

Livestock losses may have fallen nationally, but researchers do not know whether they declined specifically in areas where wolves were hunted. If a whole pack is not killed, individual wolves may disperse and cause even more problems, Huitu said.

DNA samples also showed that quota areas emptied by hunting were quickly occupied by wolves from neighbouring territories.

Human wariness may take time to develop

Hunters have also argued that hunting makes wolves more wary of people, keeping them farther from humans and domestic animals. But research evidence on wolves is conflicting, and a clear link between hunting and increased wariness has not been established, Huitu said.

Wariness could increase over time as hunting removes individuals more likely to approach people, but the process would be slow. Wolf wariness towards humans has not been studied in Finland. Huitu also cautioned against applying research on large carnivores elsewhere directly to Finnish animals. Studies suggest bears are more wary of people in Scandinavia and Finland than in North America, possibly because of a long history of hunting, but that response does not happen immediately, he said.

Wildlife agency proposes a 109-wolf quota

The Finnish Wildlife Agency has proposed allowing 109 wolves to be hunted next winter. The proposed quotas and stated reasons are: Pahkavaara, three wolves, forest reindeer protection; Ylivieska, four, close kinship; Lestijärvi, six, forest reindeer protection; Iivantiira-Vuosanka, six, forest reindeer protection; Kivikiekki, six, close kinship; Juudinsalo, two, damage and safety; Höljäkkä, six, damage and safety; Pyhtää, eight, damage and safety; Siuntio, seven, close kinship, damage and safety; Somerniemi, four, damage; Mellilä, six, safety and damage; Punkalaidun, eight, close kinship; Kivikylä-Kaivola, 12, safety; Taivassalo, seven, safety and damage; Stormi, six, damage and safety; Keikyä, six, safety; Mestilä, six, safety; and Rauma-Lappi, six, safety and damage. The agency says close kinship refers to inbred packs, with removal intended to improve the wolves’ genetic makeup.

Population growth stopped

The only confirmed effect of last winter’s hunt is that the wolf population stopped growing. This means roughly as many pups were born as wolves died through hunting and natural causes.

Huitu said the limited findings reflect both the time needed to study the effects and the fact that changes may not be visible after only a few months. Research plans are in place, and more information is expected to accumulate as quota hunting continues in the coming years.