According to the ruling of the Oslo District Court, wolf hunting in the four counties of Hornmoen, Rømskog, Bograngen and Slettås will be stopped.
"A state in the Ministry of Climate and Environment is prohibited from implementing the decision of December 22, 2021 on the killing of wolves in Hornmoen, Slettås and wolves on the Norwegian side of the Bograngen and Rømskog territories, unless a court decides otherwise," said the ruling.
. Appeal
The Ministry of Climate and Environment also has to pay legal costs of NOK 450 to three animal protection organizations. Noah, WWF and Foreningen Våre Rovdyr, who brought the case to court.
It is not yet known whether the state will appeal to the Court of Appeal. Ole André Myhrvold, the Center Party's spokesman for energy and environmental policy, says the party does not agree with the ruling and believes it should be appealed and dealt with quickly.
An important signal
The animal protection organization says in a joint press release that it is relieved at the district court's ruling
- The state should treat this as an important signal that it should increase caution in the management of endangered predators, says leader Siri Martinsen in Noah.
The WWF World Wide Fund for Nature believes that the ruling is not only a victory for the wolves, but also biodiversity and the safety of nature.
“It's the only thing right that wolf hunting is now on hold until we have a legal clarification as to whether the state can set the wolf hunting threshold as low as it has done in recent years. This is Secretary General Karoline Andaur at the WWF World Wide Fund for Nature.
Several legal proceedings
Just before Christmas, the Ministry of Climate and Environment decided to uphold the decision of the predator committees to kill 25 wolves in four regions: Hornmoen, Rømskog, Bograngen and Slettås.
Three animal welfare organizations have taken legal action because they believe the decision was invalid. They then applied for a so-called interim injunction to stop the wolf hunting until the Court of Appeal hears an appeal in the so-called Letjenna case, which will go to court again this summer.
The Oslo District Court ruled in July that the decision to kill wolves in the Letjenna area was invalid, but the verdict was overturned. Regardless of the decision when the case goes to the Court of Appeal in June, there is reason to believe that the substance of the case will ultimately go to the Supreme Court.
. is legal
The Ministry of Climate and Environment announced in a press release just before the New Year that the decision to grant a license in the wolf zone in four territories is legal.
– I note the decision of the district court to temporarily suspend the issuance of licenses in the wolf zone – said the Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide.
Hunting in the wolf zone is from January 1 to February 15. Then comes the mating season. These wolves live in the four territories of Hornmoen, Rømskog, Bograngen and Slettås.
Source: NTB
Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
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