Sweden court halts controversial wolf hunt News
Sweden court halts controversial wolf hunt

[JURIST] A Swedish court [official website] on Thursday put a stop to a wolf hunt 12 hours before it was scheduled to begin in Varmland and Orebro. On appeal brought by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) [advocacy websites], the Swedish court issued a temporary injunction, questioning if the hunting legislation comports with EU law. In a letter [text, PDF] to the EU Commissioner responsible for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on Thursday, EEB Secretary General Jeremy Wates and WWF Director Tony Long [official profiles] argued the hunting policy was a violation of EU law and would result in the killing of at least 44 wolves, as much as 13 percent of the total population.

Hunting is a contentious issue in Europe. In 2012 the European Court of Human Rights struck down a German hunting law [JURIST report] requiring landowners to allow hunting on their property as a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2009 the Swedish Sami Association (SSR) brought a lawsuit against the Swedish government [JURIST report] claiming that the state is violating the hunting rights of the indigenous Sami people by allowing all European Union citizens to hunt in a disputed mountainous region in northern Sweden. In 2005 British fox-hunters clashed with authorities [JURIST report] and advocates against animal cruelty on the first day of a ban on hunting with dogs. In 2004 a British hunting organization said it would file suit [JURIST report] to stop the ban from taking effect, and if they failed, they would seek an injunction to delay its enactment in February. The British government said it would not oppose the injunction.