Saaremaa Showdown: Farmers vs. Wolves
Published: 05.09.2011 09:35
Photo: Pärnu Postimees / Scanpix
Wolves have killed at least 71 sheep on the island of Saaremaa this year. As financial losses mount, local farmers seem hard-pressed to protect their flocks against a small number of elusive predators.
Saaremaa sheep breeder Kaljo Rand told ETV over the weekend that he and other breeders are simply unable to protect their flocks from the wolves.
Rand added that his annual investment into sheep breeding amounts to 260,000 euros, so he can ill afford to absorb losses from wolf attacks.
It's been estimated that total losses from wolf killings on the island this year amount to 43,000 euros.
Tõnu Talvi of Estonia's Environmental Assessment Agency confirmed that a wolf-shooting permit has been issued for farmers on the island.
Farmers appealed for this permit last month after a wolf attack on a flock at the Saaremaa village of Sauvere killed 17 sheep.
That said, Talvi's office estimates that only three wolves live on the island. Talvi told ETV that an optimum population of wolves in Estonia is 100 to 200, ideally 150.
Unsurprisingly, Rand countered that the optimal situation would be a wolf-free Saaremaa.
Andres Kahar