Compared to last year, wolves in Pärnu County have killed twice as many sheep, leaving livestock farmers in distress. One sheep farmer has even sold off their flock and ceased operations because of ongoing wolf attacks.

Jüri Pärnat, a livestock farmer in Jäärja, is considering doing the same.

"The killings began this July," Pärnat said. "The first 21 sheep [were killed] on July 12, and later, over the course of a month, a total of 45 have been taken. For 25 years I've been trying to work on sheep farming, but in this past year alone, more have been killed than in the previous 24 years combined. It's like there's no point in doing this anymore."

A cattle farm in Tohera hadn't seen a single wolf in the span of 30 years, but this summer they've lost three calves.

"It's hit my farm here, a farm in Vändra," said cattle farmer Jüri Mihkelstein. "A couple of days ago, it hit an acquaintance's farm in Vihtra. Its range, so to speak, is quite big."

Both Pärnat and Mihkelstein have applied with the Environmental Board for special permits to hunt wolves. One of them was denied; the other is still waiting for a response. Both say they need the option to hunt wolves in their area during hunting season too.

In this case, however, one of the livestock farms falls within a wolf monitoring area, and the other is located adjacent to Soomaa National Park, where wolf hunting is prohibited.

But the problem isn't just that they can't hunt; there are also simply more wolves. According to Environment Agency figures, Estonia was home to 39 wolf packs last fall, the highest number of packs the country has seen this century.

"It is estimated that there are too many of them," commented Kaljo Poldov, a hunter and member of Tahkuranna Hunting Society. "The first option I'd suggest is to increase the hunting quota. Another option is that when such wolf damages occur, the Environmental Board should respond as quickly as possible and exceptionally issue hunting permits."

This May, the Environmental Board told ERR that wolf numbers had not increased. Now the board says that there are more wolves than there have been in previous years, but still not too many.

"145 wolves were hunted in Estonia last year, and we review that number each year," said Environmental Board director Rainer Vakra. "We actually constantly maintain the wolf population within the same framework."

Vakra confirmed that the board is continuously monitoring the situation. He added that hunting in areas near Soomaa isn't out of the question, and that the board is now paying special attention to Pärnu County.

"Since it's clear that the damages in Pärnu County are greater than last year, the wolf hunting quota in Pärnu County will very likely increase next year as well," he said.

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