Sheep farmer in Åmli laments livestock losses due to wolf attacks

In Tovdal, Åmli, sheep farmer Eirin Rauø lamented the loss and injury of her livestock due to wolf attacks. She displayed a severely injured lamb that managed to return home but ultimately had to be euthanized. Rauø’s husband, Olav Gunvald Ramse, discovered the lamb’s mother dead in the woods and immediately suspected a wolf was responsible. A hunting team of twelve men searched for the wolf in Agder on Saturday but found no signs.

Rauø’s farm currently houses eleven adult sheep alongside lambs, but between 15 and 20 lambs are still missing. She expressed concern, stating, “I would have liked to bring them home, but the chances of finding them now are slim. Some are likely dead.” The emotional toll of witnessing injured animals return home before needing euthanasia weighs heavily on her.

Tom Olav Trydal from Statens naturoppsyn revealed that DNA testing confirmed the wolf responsible for the attacks is a male from a specific pack in Sweden. This wolf has been involved in attacks on sheep in the municipalities of Froland, Bygland, and Åmli. Ramse advocates for relaxed hunting regulations in the area, claiming, “Wolves do not belong here, and we cannot have them.”

Peder Johan Pedersen, head of Naturvernforbundet in Agder, criticized the hunting of critically endangered species, urging that any culling should be overseen by authorities to protect the wolf population’s genetic viability. Despite past losses to wolf attacks—ten sheep in 2013 and 38 in 2016—Rauø hopes the intermunicipal hunting team will successfully locate the wolf before the culling permit expires on Tuesday. The permit allows hunting in Froland, Evje and Hornnes, Åmli, Bygland, and Valle.