How many top predators can a nation cope with? It’s not a question the UK currently has to grapple with, but many European countries do, and it’s becoming increasingly political in some parts of the continent.
In Sweden, conservationists are alarmed by the growing anti-carnivore stance of its hunting lobby and politicians. Culling rates of bears, wolves and lynx are all unsustainable, they argue.
Last year, the authorities issued licences to shoot more than 500 bears, an estimated 20 per cent of the population.
Now, it has given the go-ahead for the culling of more than 100 lynx out of a population of some 1,300 or so.
“Lynx have become political pawns in the culture war,” argues wildlife photographer Staffan Widstrand of the conservation campaign group Sweden’s Big Five. There are 275,000 registered hunters in Sweden, he says – just 2.75 per cent of its population – but they have a disproportionate impact on politics.
“They are a target group for both political blocks,” Widstrand says. As a result, quotas are high to appease the hunters, who want to reduce predator numbers to limit their impact on game species such as red and roe deer.
The vast majority (between 67-80 per cent) of Swedes, Widstrand argues, are in favour of large carnivores, but it is not a make or break issue in elections.
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In the UK, the main arguments against reintroducing lynx come from sheep farmers who are concerned about livestock losses. Sweden’s Big Five says this is not a major issue, with only 89 sheep taken by these medium-sized cats in 2023 out of a total herd numbering more than 300,000 animals.
But there is conflict between lynx (and bears and wolves) and the semi-domesticated reindeer managed by the indigenous Sámi people in the north of the country. Researchers monitored 35 lynx for 3,667 days and found that while all lynx will take reindeer, male lynx in summer killed the most, while some females switched entirely to smaller prey during that time.
BBC Wildlife contacted Sweden’s Hunters Association but did not receive a response. Nonetheless, hunters argue that culling lynx limit the damage they cause, thereby increasing their acceptability to the public.
For the foreseeable future, it is likely there will continue to be arguments over whether it is necessary to cull predators such as lynx and how many should be taken. It is an issue Britain will have to consider should we ever reintroduce them here.
Main image: lynx in Sweden/Getty
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