European Court of Justice ratifies main lines of wolf population management plan

The crucial point of the decision is that the current system, based on hunting permits granted by the game management districts, is not contrary to the Habitats Directive. The game management districts can continue to grant permits to hunt wolf within the limits laid down by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. An order regulating the hunting of wolves will be issued in the autumn.

The Ministry considers that wolf hunting permits can be granted in the future, too, for the prevention of very significant loss or damage. However, a precondition is that the monitoring carried out this year shows that loss and damage can actually be prevented by hunting.

The decision does not concern cases in which the game management districts or the Ministry has granted permits to eliminate, for example, wolves that enter gardens or yards regularly. Neither does it concern so-called population management permits used to achieve the targets of the wolf population management plan.

When planning future wolf policy in Finland, the Ministry will take note of the Court of Justice’s decision on the wolf and the grounds for it. According to the Court of Justice, the wolf population’s conservation status in Finland in 2002 was not favourable, and the special permit decisions made by the Ministry in the years 2000 and 2001 did not comply with the requirements of the Habitats Directive. However, the decision did take into account the development of the wolf population after 2002 and the wolf population management plan. On the basis of these it can be considered that the management plan creates a sufficient foundation for meeting the requirements of the Habitats Directive. The management of the wolf population and wolf hunting shall in future be based on the Management Plan for the Wolf Population In Finland approved in 2005.

For further information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry:
State Secretary Jouni Lind, tel. +358 (0)50 521 3305
Senior Officer Sami Niemi, tel. +358 (0)400 238 505