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Predators in ‘Agri-environmental’ Sweden: Rural Heritage and Resistance Against Wolf Propagation

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Survival and Sustainability

Part of the book series: Environmental Earth Sciences ((EESCI))

Abstract

The politics and the underlying reasons for the recuperation of a Scandinavian wolf population are increasingly contested. According to the official policy, wolves shall be guaranteed place in the Swedish fauna. The conflict regarding whether Sweden should host a wolf population polarises between on the one hand, views and understandings as regards biodiversity and sustainable development, and on the other hand, perspectives expressing that local traditions and livelihoods are at stake as a result of wolf occurrence in the landscape. The diverging environmental imaginaries at play in the debate can be seen as constitutive of spatial indifferences. States’ and nature conservation organisations’ desires to implement measures understood to provide conditions for the survival of the wolf are counterbalanced by local actions groups and community residents who struggle to maintain the conditions for the conservation of summer pasturing agriculture, continued and unchanged opportunities to perform hunting with sporting dogs and other recreational activities such as mushrooming and the picking of berries. Considered not only by themselves as of high natural and cultural value, the European Union like wisely appoint that small-scale ways of farming are important to maintain for the upkeep of the landscape and the promotion of conditions guarding the survival of the values associated with these ‘agri-environmental’ habitats.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The wolf population is generally referred to as ‘Scandinavian’ since some of the wolf territories is to be found to pass the national border between Sweden and Norway.

  2. 2.

    Such as Svenska Rovdjursföreningen (the Swedish Carnivore Association), Svenska Naturskyddsföreningen (the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation), and WWF (the World Wide Foundation).

  3. 3.

    Including informants and people who have been expressing their opinions at debate meetings, in radio and TV programs.

  4. 4.

    Groups and organizations such as the ‘the Swedish Forum for Predatory Animal Issues’ (authors translation for Svenskt Samarbetsforum i Rovdjursfrågor) and ‘the Swedish Hunting & Outdoor Recreation Club’ (authors translation for Svenska Jakt & Fritidsgruppen), as well as individuals.

  5. 5.

    It has been found that the Scandinavian wolf population was founded be three individuals. By drawing up a pedigree for 24 breeding pairs it was found that the inbreeding coefficient F varied between 0.00 and 0.41 in the period between 1983 and 2002 [13].

  6. 6.

    See for example the web page of the Swedish Carnivore Association (http://www.rovdjursforeningen.se).

  7. 7.

    In popular parlance among certain groups referred to as ‘Shoot, Dig and Shut Up’.

  8. 8.

    Estimated amount: 76–79 individuals. A wolf pack consists of a breeding pair and their offspring.

  9. 9.

    Estimated amount: 26–28 individuals.

  10. 10.

    Estimated amount: 7–10.

  11. 11.

    Besides wolf packs, scent-marking pairs and other residential individuals there are also migratory wolves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Public Sector Research (CEFOS), Göteborg University, Göteborg, Box 720, SE-405 30, Sweden

    Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist

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  1. Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist
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Correspondence to Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Civil Engineering, Near East University, Nicosia, Mersin 10, Turkey

    Hüseyin Gökçekus

  2. Dept. Civil Engineering, Near East University, Nicosia, Mersin 10, Turkey

    Umut Türker

  3. P.E.LaMoreaux and Associates, University Blvd. 2612, Tuscaloosa, 35403, Alabama, USA

    James W. LaMoreaux

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Sjölander-Lindqvist, A. (2010). Predators in ‘Agri-environmental’ Sweden: Rural Heritage and Resistance Against Wolf Propagation. In: Gökçekus, H., Türker, U., LaMoreaux, J. (eds) Survival and Sustainability. Environmental Earth Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-95991-5_2

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