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It can be said that the wolf hunting season in the country, which began on October 15 and is scheduled to end on March 31, is halfway through. According to data from 24 November, almost half of the limit set by the Ministry of the Environment has already been used: out of 175 wolves, more than 80 have been hunted. In Šiauliai County, gray grasslands have been mainly placed in the Joniškis and Kelmė districts.
In recent years, predators called forest disinfectants increasingly attract homes and cause damage. Perennial foresters and hunters say there have never been as many wolves as there are now.
There are five and three wolves on the hunt.
On November 8, Paulius Spudys, a hunter from the Raudgiris hunting group in Kelmė district, hunted three wolves one after another in the forest of the village of Kasčiukai.
According to the hunt, on the afternoon of that day he was lurking in a crop near the desert. To catch a wolf, especially three, I did not expect to know the smell and the mind of these animals.
However, three suddenly came out of the forest: two older wolves, about two years old, and a younger one, who weighed 26 kilograms. P.Spudis’s shots were accurate.
In the neighboring district of Telšiai, up to five wolves were hunted during a hunt.
So far, no wolves have been hunted in Šiauliai, Akmenė and Radviliškis districts.
When the limit runs out, the season ends
In total, 80 wolves have already been hunted in Lithuania in just over a month since the start of the wolf hunting season, which is almost half the limit approved by the Ministry of the Environment for the 2020-2021 season. When the hunting limit is exhausted, the season will end.
It is claimed that such a limit has been established on the basis of the wolf population monitoring data, taking into account the research results and the recommendations of the scientists, estimating that there are at least 54 wolf families in Lithuania and maintaining the population level of these important forest ecosystems.
The Ministry of the Environment did not take into account the proposals received not to limit the damage to farmers’ farms and wildlife hunting wolves. It is said that in this case the wolf population would be in danger of significantly decreasing, which would have a negative effect on their long-term survival.
To regulate the wolf population, said Algirdas Klimavičius, head of the Nature Protection Policy Group at the Ministry of the Environment, caution is necessary, because these animals play a very important role: killing foxes, mangoes and other smaller predators. . jerubes.
Studies have shown that doubling the number of wolves reduces the abundance of medium-sized predators by four times. Wolves should also help slow the growth of deer populations.
A. Jonaičius, president of the Tyrelis hunting group, was satisfied with the “reduction” of the wolf hunting quota of the Ministry of Environment for all of Lithuania: 175 wolves. The number is said to be “from the ceiling” without going too deep or coming out of the cabinets.
Such a large number of predators hunted during a hunt, as was put in the Kelmė or Joniškis districts a few days ago, according to A. Jonaitis, who has been the leader of the Tyrelis hunting group since 2008, only shows how many wolves live in the forests. It was said that a good decade ago, hunting at least one wolf was exceptional.
“We go to the forests, we see how they harm other wild animals, we find many feet, as well as deer hooves and other remains. It is not surprising that the wolves are already going to the hamlets, where they look for light prey ”.
According to A. Jonaitis, due to such a small hunting quota as planned by the ministry, the wolves may soon begin to attract en masse to people’s villages and yards. The hunter believes that wolves should be allowed to hunt throughout the year to ensure optimal numbers.
“It is now forbidden to kill a wolf, even a sick and difficult one, during the offseason. Who would want to lose a hunter’s license, a gun or maybe a car?
Wolves – in the courtyards
It has been written in the press more than once that wolves have attacked farms in almost every district of the country in recent years. Wolves target sheep, goats, other animals, even four-legged pets.
In “Šiauliai Region” we wrote about a wolf who came to the Šiauliai district, Meškuičiai settlement of the nearby Joniškis district, and ripped a dog from one resident and a day later from another.
Algirdas Černauskas, the head of the Gruzdžiai forest district, who visited the scene at the time, did not doubt that the dogs were spotted by a forest beast, which if it had been a rabid dog, it would only have euthanized the tied pets, but not I would have tied them there. In addition, the wolf in the farm yard left undoubted guilt – huge feet.
Povilas Daugėla from Meškuita, who lost the dog, immediately after the wolf’s attack in his garden, told the Šiauliai region that he was not only alarmed, but also significantly scared, so he would not risk sticking his nose in it. garden at dusk.
It is not ruled out that wolves killed by hunter P. Spudis or his relatives in Kelm Kel district visited farms in the Kražiai area last month: a farmer living near Pašil cerca village was destroyed by 26 sheep, another farmer he lost nine or three goats a few days later.
In the vicinity of Kražiai, when a wolf came to the farms and slaughtered a sheep or a goat.
Hunting experts say the attacks on pets clearly show that the number of wolves is excessive, even harmful to other populations.
The wolf also defeats the “shepherd”
A. Černauskas believes that it is not so easy for breeders to protect domestic animals from attacks by wolves, as theorists say. These forest predators are often easily outmatched by both fences and electric “shepherds,” whom they simply jump.
According to A. Černauskas, the wolf is an exceptionally intelligent animal, small and with a great smell, so it is not easy not only to protect yourself from it, but also to hunt it.
“Of course, if there is a possibility, the breeders must move the animals to the stables for the night. But the pastures are often far from the farms,” said the forester.
Raimondas Šiukšteris, the head of the Šiauliai Wildlife Protection Inspectorate of the Department of Environmental Protection, also associates the arbitrariness of wolves on farms with the massive destruction of wild boars, the most popular wolf prey.
Not everyone is compensated
The state has introduced a compensation mechanism for farms that have suffered damage from wild animals. In each municipality of the country a commission is formed to confirm the circumstances of a specific incident and present conclusions.
People can apply, but not everyone, because not all animals, especially those whose owners have one or two remote farms, are registered in the Livestock Registry. No compensation is paid for non-registrants.
The Agriculture Department of the Šiauliai District Municipality has confirmed that no residents have applied for benefits this year due to wild predators grazing domestic animals. In 2019, applications were submitted multiple times, for the loss of sheep and goats.
The Environment Ministry, meanwhile, says the damage done to pets has been stable in recent years. Until September last year, the Ministry of the Environment allocated 71.2 thousand euros to compensate farmers for this damage, and this year until September, 74.7 thousand euros.
State compensation for damage to farmed game animals – a sheep – from 80 to 180 euros, for a sheep up to four months – from 30 to 60 euros, for four months – from 50 to 100 euros. The premium per goat is between 50 and 120 euros, for a goat up to four months from 20 to 30 euros and for four months from 40 to 60 euros.
Another wolf in Kelmė district was killed on October 21.
And on October 31, five wolves were hunted during a hunt in the Tyrelis forest in the Joniškis district.
According to Antanas Jonaitis, the president of the Tyrelis hunting group, an exceptionally large group of men hunted that day. Lucky five.
A wolf was already hunted in the forests of Pakruojis district during this hunting season, on November 6.
