Sweden mulls importing wolves

Jan 28, 2010, 15:50 GMT

Stockholm - Sweden on Thursday announced plans to inject fresh blood into its wolf population that is threatened by inbreeding, including possible import of 20 wolves in coming years.

Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said the plans included moving wolves within Sweden, for instance from areas in the north used for reindeer herding.

Any move of wolves hinged on acceptance from people in the areas affected as well as hunting organizations, he added.

'The government's policy is to ensure that Sweden's wolf population numbers over 200 wolves,' Carlgren said.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency was to be tasked with studying an import of wolves from Sweden's eastern neighbours.

Earlier this month, Sweden staged the country's first licensed wolf hunt for over four decades, allowing a total quota of 27 wolves to be shot - a little more than 10 per cent of the total Scandinavian wolf population.

The last wolf in the quota was reported shot Thursday.

Conservationists have criticized the hunt saying it threatened an endangered species and there was lack of sufficient supervision from government or regional authorities. This led to a breach of the quota in one region.

Carlgren said a review of the hunt would be made.

Controlled hunting of wolves has been allowed previously, including that of animals that attack livestock including reindeer.