About hunting and what life is really like in Sunne

You may or not know that I spent a lot of 2008 writing a book. This was something I had wanted to do for a long time but for many different reasons I never seemed able to finish any writing I started. It became obvious to me that I wasn’t ready to become a writer. Each time though I learned a little more about the process and then in 2008 things seemed to fall into place and I finally managed to finish my first book.

It reads similar in style to the way I write this blog. I spent the year trying to experience what life is really like in Sunne, I tried to search out as many different aspects of life here as possible, most of them were things that were completely new to me. I would then, try to write about them being as subjective and honest as possible. Each new experience gave me a better understanding of my new life, making me appreciate just how right I was to have settled in this part of Sweden.

One of the new experiences I had was to join an Elk hunt and for the first time in my life sit and wait to watch something being killed. I have to say that I was nothing but impressed by the whole day. I didn’t actually see any elks being shot, but any preconceived ideas I had of the hunters and the hunt were shown again and again to be false. There was no gung ho spirit here at all; there were no wreck less attitudes infact the exact opposites prevailed. This was a very well organised and highly professional day. The whole emphasis was on safety, with each firing line having been thought out and planned way in advance. The instructions given out to every hunter before we left the meeting area were precise and made sure everyone knew exactly where and when they were allowed to shoot. None of the rules stopped the hunters from having a good time and there were at least 2 Elk shot that day.

Hunting is a way of life for many people living in this area; they are a very diverse bunch. Hunters are made up of both sexes; they are all ages and come from all walks of life. Many, many of my friends here are hunters and I now understand that when you live in the countryside there is a great need to manage the amount of wild life that share this beautiful area with us. Animals get sick or hurt and need to be put out of there misery, some become pests and cause problems for farmers and need to be hunted down. There is of course also the sport aspect, this is not really to my taste but I accept that people have the right to hunt. Elk hunting where not only is there the sporting side but also the fact that nearly all the kills are used for food is not a problem for me at all.

Recently there was a hunt which was carried out across Sweden which left a very bad taste in my mouth. Hunters took to the forests in their thousands with the sole aim of killing wolves. The aim of this hunt was something that I didn’t understand. Was it to kill wolves that were causing problems to farmers? Was it to kill wolves that were sick and in pain? Was it purely for sport? Or was it that some hunters would rather Sweden had no wolves at all and this was a chance to begin the process of wiping them out completely? The government has said that it wants to wolf population to be set at around 210 wolves. It said that by allowing 27 to be killed the population would be reduced to that level. It granted over 12,000 licences to hunters.

Each area was given a certain amount of permitted kills, 9 for Värmland, 9 for Dalarna, both had to stop after one day as they had already exceeded their quotas. That unfortunately was where things began to fall apart, not only did some areas far exceed the amount of permitted kills, there was also over 30% of wolves shot that were not killed but injured and left in great pain and distress. Yes they would hopefully be eventually hunted down and put out of their misery, but no animal should be subjected to what many wolves were put through on that shameful day.

I have been told that wolves are a menace; they are coming to close to houses and killing dogs and sheep. I have been told that wolves attack the hunt dogs in the forest and also scare away the Elk when the hunters are trying to shoot them. I don’t know enough to question how close a wolf may come to areas where people live. I do know that thousands of men and women shooting at any wolf they see in the forest and wounding a high proportion of them is not really the best way to keep wolves from our doors. Perhaps to track down the particular wolf causing the problem would be a more suitable solution.

Wolves are pack animals and hunt in teams. One wolf hunting on its own is either going to be sick or in some kind of trouble. This animal may need to be killed; if any wolf is going to cause a problem it is going to be that one. Most wolves though are not interested in humans and would run away from us before we even saw them. To allow thousands of people the chance to legally shoot them is not something that Sweden should be proud of.

Having Predators wandering the forests of Sweden is a good thing. Bears, wild boar, big cats and wolves all add to the uniqueness of this beautiful country. It would be wrong if this hunt was allowed to happen again.

This was the last blog I will write for you, next week someone else will takeover. I hope that you have enjoyed reading my thoughts; I have tried to be as honest and open with you as I could. Thank you for taking the time to read me and please if you have any comments or question please let me know.

Take care/ David