Advocate-General in EC Court says wolf hunting in Finland illegal

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Advocate-General Juliane Kokott has put forward a proposal to the Court of Justice of the European Communities calling for a ruling against Finland for violating the EU’s Nature Directive. According to the Advocate-General, the practice of granting permits to kill wolves outside reindeer husbandry areas violates the directive.
      Kokott’s opinion is not binding for the court, but its decisions rarely deviate from the views of the Advocate-General.
      Sami Niemi, a top official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, says that it is premature to speculate on the impact that the ongoing process might have on Finnish policy toward its wolves. "First we have to wait for the ruling", Niemi says.
     
The directive forbids the hunting of wolves in northern areas outside reindeer husbandry areas. However, Finnish officials grant permits for such hunting.
      The directive does allow for certain exceptions. However, Kokott says that Finland has violated the directive by granting permits, even though it has not been able to demonstrate sufficient reasons for deviating from the rule.
      The Advocate-General says that one reason why the grounds for an exception are missing is that the hunting permits for wolves are not limited to individual animals whose killing is seen as necessary for the prevention of damage.
      Many of the permits are granted for a certain number of wolves, rather than for specified individuals. The reasons given for granting the permits are usually the threat posed by the wolves to domestic animals. The safety of human beings is also often cited.
     
The case was brought before the court by the European Commission. The Commission has no complaints about Finnish hunting legislation, but feels that the directive is violated by administrative practice in granting hunting permits.
      The Finnish government feels that the practice of granting hunting permits has not harmed the protection of wolves.
      Sami Niemi feels that the proposal indicates a lack of understanding for the special circumstances of Finland, and for the conservation policies implemented here. Niemi notes that Finland and Sweden are the only EU member states to have indigenous populations of all four large land predators - the bear, the wolf, the wolverine, and the lynx.
      Finland’s wolf population numbers about 200. Ilpo Kuronen of the Finnish League for Nature Protection feels that the population is so small that it could be seriously hurt by an epidemic.
     
The latest controversy on the wolf hunting issue concerns the community of Hyrynsalmi, in the Kainuu region in the east of Oulu Province, where reindeer herders were recently granted permits to kill all of the members of a single wolf pack.
      Five of the eight wolves were shot by Thursday, when the permit expired.
      On Thursday, four more carcasses of reindeer apparently killed by wolves were found in the area.
     
Under current legislation, owners of domestic animals are entitled to compensation for wolf damage.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ministry gives permission to kill Suomussalmi wolf pack (20.11.2006)
  Wolves seen near Helsinki (29.11.2006)

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