Harju County farm has near miss with suspected wolf
A farm in Harju County was the scene of a suspected wolf attack, though the quick actions of the farm's owner meant no livestock were taken.
Each year the state pays out about €400,000 in compensation for predator damage, with cases of entire flocks of sheep being wiped out not unheard of. At the same time, culling options have been the subject of court suspensions.
The recent incident happened in the village of Muuksi, nearly 50 kilometers east of Tallinn and near the Lahemaa National Park, at a farm owned by Maarit Mürk.
Maarit has 30 horses and a small herd of cattle, whose task is to maintain the local semi-natural environment. To that end, Maarit gets state support from the Agriculture Registers and Information Board (PRIA), and this summer two calves and a foal were added to the stock.
However, tranquility turned to alarm last Friday night when a disturbance broke out on the farm.
"My horses were running madly around the paddock, I could hear only a great commotion, the cows' loud distress calls and the wolf's distinct howling — a long howl. And I didn't know what else to do but let out one primeval roar myself, to frighten away whoever was in the paddock," Mürk said.
That seemed to scare the wolf off, but Maarit had also armed herself just in case. "At one point I grabbed a rock from the dry-stone wall, because I don't know about wolves and I don't know how they might act," she explained.
Local hunters have since weighed in on the incident. A local hunter said no wolf pack has been seen in the Muuksi area — meaning it was more likely a lone individual. There are, however, plenty of bears in the area also.
As the event raised fresh questions about predator control, Tõnu Tamm, board member of the Lääne-Lahemaa hunting society, said the best move would be to approach the state Environmental Board to apply for a hunting permit, which would be acted on by the hunting society itself.
However, this approach remains complicated. Bear culling permits issued by the Environmental Board are currently suspended by court order, and wolf hunting is subject to a similar legal challenge.
"I don't really have any clever advice to give them other than to turn to the Environmental Board. If the board issues us a hunting permit, well — why not? Although they have issued permits, the court has again put them on hold. Finally a special permit was opened, but there's not much you can do with that now," Tamm said.
For her part, Mürk said she does not want to wait for tragedy before action is taken.
"Next time I wouldn't want to rely on a rock alone. Next time I'd rather take a gun, so would have to start to obtain a weapons permit," she said.
The Environmental Board has also commented on the broader issue. Rainer Vakra, director general of the Environmental Board, said: "Bear hunting — before the court stopped it, bears were culled in 28 cases. Today we have issued permits for roughly ten nuisance individuals. Wolf hunting is currently underway, but it has been challenged in court. The court will most likely make its decision on protection issues next or the week after."
Vakra added that farmers can still take practical steps in the meantime. "As for what livestock owners can do right away," Vakra said, "review the placement of your fences, prevention measures and, ultimately, if it really is an individual that is killing the herd, then immediately after it has happened the Environmental Board will also issue a special permit."
This year's outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) has led to fears of a surge in wolf attacks, as wild boar were also culled — as well as domestic pigs — in an effort to curb the disease's spread. Boar are a staple part of wolves' diets, and reduced prey availability may be driving predators closer to farms.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
