The term " underdog " has never seemed more applicable than it currently does regarding the situation of Norway ’s wild wolf population , which discover itself outnumbered by more than 700 to one by hunters .
concord tothe Guardian , of the 30gray wolves(Canis lupus ) presently thought to be present in the Norse land ’s forests , authorities have set aside 16 to be shot in the current 2015/16 hunting time of year that runs from October 1 , 2015 to March 31 , 2016 . With more than 11,500 hunt licenses having been turn over out , the odds are heavily pile against the wild canine tooth .
In nastiness of the hazardously low number of wolves currently living in Norway , the Norwegian Register for Hunters places very few restrictions on those who care to apply for a permit , requiring only that they pay their yearly registration fee and pass a hunting proficiency mental testing . As a result , gamy volumes of permits be given to be awarded each year , with around 10,000 having been obtained by hunting watch during the 2013/14 season .
While the quota for the number of wolves that can be killed each year is coiffe by the government , the potency for this physical body to be accidentally exceeded is patently eminent , given the quantity of hunter . The scheme has therefore been to a great extent criticized by expert such as Petter Wabakken of the Hedmark University College Faculty of Forestry and Wildlife Management , who late brand the governing ’s insurance " distressing , " telling theGuardianthat the protection it provides for wolves is not enough to sustain a healthy universe .
Though wolves once thrived in Norway , numbers have been dwindling ever since extensive search began in the mid-19th century in an attempt to protect farm animal from predation . Facing experimental extinction , wolves take in government protection in 1973 , although this safety is only guarantee within asmall area of landin the south - east region of the rural area , wrap up some five percent of its total area . Wolf who drift beyond the boundary of this zone are at endangerment of being shoot , as are those who have more than three litter a year , in accordance of rights with elbow grease to keep marauder population under control .
grey Wolf typically live in pack of between four and nine , endure for eight to 13 age , and strain an average body size of about one to 1.5 metre ( 3 to 5 feet ) in distance , not include the tail . Though around 30 are remember to be based in Norway , a further 50 are estimated to regularly migrate back and forth across the delimitation with Sweden , where they receive greater legal tribute from hunters . This population is said to be very isolated genetically , due to conflicts with wolves from other region .
As carnivore , Norwegian savage tend to hunt hoofed mammals such as American elk and cervid , although they also predate on livestock , defeat around 1,500 sheep per year . It is for this understanding that beast hunt is permit in Norway . However , opinion over this issue isvery much split up , with many pointing to the fact that considerably more sheep die from infections and traffic fortuity than by wolf depredation , and that give the dangerously low turn of wild wolves in Norway , more should be done to protect them .
