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10/7/05

Helsingin Sanomat - European Union wants fivefold increase in Finnish wolf population

Helsingin Sanomat

European Union wants fivefold increase in Finnish wolf population

The European Commission is taking Finland before the Court of Justice of the European Communities for granting hunters permits to shoot wolves too freely. The Commission wants Finland to let its wolf population grow to about 1,000, which is five times more than the present approximately 200 individuals: only then can measures to protect the endangered species be eased. Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry rejects the Commission’s view. According to ministry official Sauli Härkönen, the Commission is focusing excessively on the number of individual animals. Härkönen says that an important factor in the equation is that the Finnish wolf population is directly linked with the much greater population across the border in Russia, where there are thousands of animals.

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