A choice that has been defined controversial but has not been blocked. From a few hours in Finland has begun wolf hunting, a possibility that will allow the hunters of the Scandinavian country to eliminate a fifth of the specimens: the environmental associations are not in favor, but according to the Helsinki authorities it is legal killings and able to put a stop to poaching in recent years. As explained by the Finnish Wildlife Agency, this experience will be essential to find a solution to the wolf problem once and for all, also because it is already the second year of open hunting. In fact, during 2015 they were demolished 17 wolves out of 24 that it was possible to hunt.
The resumption took place after eight years of suspension, given that in 2007 the European Commission had found the violation of EU regulations regarding the protection of animals. In the last two years, however, wolves have almost doubled (going from 120 to 250 to be precise): consequently, it was understood that selective killing is able to reduce the number of wild animals, but also that wolves are a very prolific species and able to reproduce rapidly.
The tension was very high in 2013, when a group of people who lived in the rural municipality of Perho decided to take action, killing three wolves. In that case there were trials and twelve men were found guilty. There are not a few, among other things, Finnish citizens who have a real fear of the wolf, also because the stories that date back to the nineteenth century and that speak of these animals ready to eat alive the children are widespread. In the Perho area alone there should be between 10 and 20 active animals, but conservationists remain convinced that hunting can compromise the genetic diversity of wolves.
However, the authorities have set some conditions that hunters will have to respect. Particularly, the wolves to be killed are the younger ones, in order to avoid the dispersion of the packs, ready to follow their leaders. Despite the warnings, however, in 2015 were also hunted wolves that had collars and were exploited by researchers for their studies. Hunting will not be allowed in several areas of the north of the country, those in which wildlife is more aggressive: in these areas killing is accepted only in the hypothesis of an attack on humans and special permits are required.