Well, I am back from the Kalahari, which was wonderful with quite a few sightings of lions, leopards and cheetahs, to name a few. There was absolutely no Internet but I will write about the journey here on my blog as soon as I have browsed through my images and film footage. Being in Africa makes me very happy and proud: It is great to see how a poor country like South Africa takes responsibility for its wildlife and how it is possible for humans and wild animals to co-exist.
We folks in Sweden seem to lack the ability to even thinking of co-existing with other species that have sharper teeth than ourselves. This became very clear when I read the reports of the first wolf hunt in modern history in Sweden last week.
Only in recent years, we have got back a very small and fragile population of about 210 wolves in the whole country. The Swedish wolves are considered being ‘critically endangered’ on the red list of endangered species. Wolves are not really considered being a threat to humans here.
In December 2009, for the first time since 50 years, the Swedish government has decided to shoot 27 wolves, which equals more than ten percent of the Swedish population. And on January 2nd 2010, some 12.000 (twelve thousand) Swedish hunters went into the forests and slaughtered 20 wolves within hours. This is 600 hunters against one wolf! The remaining wolves were killed during the following days. The hunters shot event the parents of some cubs and injured wolves without killing them.
The official government reason for this hunt was that the population is inbred. For me and many others, it is hard to understand how the genetic variation of a critically endangered species would increase by reducing the number of animals, unless you replace them with wolves from other areas. To implant wolves in Sweden has been discussed but I find it very hard to believe that this will ever become reality. The pure fact that 12000 armed rednecks have voluntarily registered for the slaughter of an already critically endangered species makes me very sad. And the fact that the government has allowed, organized and financed (4-5 million crowns which ironically was taken from the account for biodiversity) this wolf-pogrom makes me ashamed to live here. Within only days, Sweden has lost much of its international green reputation and conservation credibility. We will have a very hard time whenever criticizing the hunting of tigers and other endangered species in foreign countries in the future.
Many people think that we are a divine species that lives in a modern world and that we are well educated and civilized. But last weeks wolf slaughter with thousands of voluntary hunters as well as the support of the Swedish government show us (once again) very clearly that we humans are nothing but a bunch of naked apes running wild. I am sure that future generations will judge us very harshly for how we are exploiting our planet and it’s species today. If we don’t reconsider and take responsibility for other species, then history will put us in a similar primitive category like the generations who dealt with slavery or witch-hunt.
To me, the future protection of the wolves as well as the coexistence of humans and wolves in Sweden may be the ultimate test of whether or not, as a species ourselves, we are serious about conservation: capable of co-existing in this country with other species.
Fortunately, tens of thousands of Swedish citizens (even many hunters) have protested against the wolf hunt. It is important to act now and to email or write to the government to stop the slaughtering.
I hope that you will make your voice heard.
You can either sign a petition at http://upprop.nu/odgq
or send a protest letter to
Miljöminister Andreas Carlgren
Miljödepartementet
Tegelbacken 2
103 33 Stockholm
or
Jordbruksminister Eskil Erlandsson
or
Statsminister Fredrik Reinfeldt
I have sent letters to all of them!
/Felix