Environment Agency proposes higher wolf hunting quota
The Environmental Agency has proposed raising the hunting quota for wolves by 28 across five areas, citing new data on pack locations from early winter hunts.
In early December, the Environmental Agency's Wildlife Department proposed increasing the wolf hunting quota in five management areas — Järva, South Lääne County, South Pärnu County, Viljandi-Valga and Võru.
The agency noted that following the first snowfall and initial wolf hunts, new reliable information has emerged about the number and locations of wolf packs. In addition to the previously known 25 packs, two more have been identified in Central Estonia, one in Northeastern Estonia and another two to four near Estonia's southern border.
This brings the total number of packs to at least 29, as only 50 percent of cross-border packs are counted toward the domestic total.
According to the initial hunting proposal, if 96 wolves are culled this season based on current pack numbers, the population is expected to rebound to between 28 and 38 packs by next fall.
However, under the large carnivore management plan, the target number of wolf packs for next fall is between 20 and 30. This means the current quota would need to be raised by 28 to 46 wolves to meet that goal.
The proposal calls for increasing the quota by six wolves in the Järva management area, seven in South Lääne County, four in South Pärnu County, five in Viljandi-Valga and six in Võru. Altogether, the number of wolves to be culled would rise by 28.
The Environmental Agency also stated that depending on ongoing data collection, they may issue additional hunting proposals later in the season.
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Marcus Turovski
