Why are wolves hunted in Norway? Background and interests

Conflicts over the wolf are intensifying in Norway.

Last month, thousands protested against legal culls.

More than 90’000 people signed the international petition against the hobby hunters.

Rural Norway will “never accept” wolves

Rural communities in Norway are fighting against depopulation. Many young people move to the cities in search of better job opportunities. Those who remain tend to be working class and are often passionate hobby hunters. They have a clear stance on predators: a limited number of lynx, wolverines, and bears is acceptable. But wolves they will never accept.

The wolf population in south-eastern Norway has been growing since the 1990s. Their appearance in new areas coincides with increasing concern among farmers and, by extension, local communities. Norwegian hobby hunters therefore want to eradicate the wolf from their territory. This, however, requires changes to national legislation and an exemption from international laws. So far, despite growing pressure, Norway has been unable to grant full authorisation to shoot wolves.

The world of hobby hunters

One factor is what is known as “cultural resistance.” This does not necessarily mean fighting against the authorities, nor does it seek social change. It is a kind of struggle for autonomy — for control over one’s own life. But young men in rural areas who enjoy hunting are a normal part of society. And their connections show that hobby hunters form a tight-knit network and thus their own distinct group of people (the well-known social “bubble”).

Competition from the animals

Many people see hunting as a kind of traditional leisure activity in nature. In the 20th century, there were no large predators in Norway apart from the lynx, but there were many ungulates such as roe deer and elk. To keep their populations in check, hobby hunting was a source of income in many rural areas. Either the animals ended up on the hunters' own plates, or they brought in money in the form of hunting subsidies. Today, Norway has lynx, wolverines, brown bears, and wolves. And hobby hunters see them as direct competitors, even though they actually promote natural biodiversity .

Cooking or shooting?

Hunting in Norway is also predominantly male-dominated. Sons learn it from their fathers and grandfathers. In modern society, hobby hunters are equally subject to modern expectations. For young hobby hunters starting a family, household chores and childcare are just as much a part of life as they are for fathers in the city. This gives rise to growing tensions between the traditional image of man as hunter and the image of the new man. But the forests are no longer the same either. In the past, they were recreational spaces shaped by people, but the presence of predators has changed that. For today's hobby hunters, the wolf has no place in Norway. Norwegian forests are meant to be reserved for walkers and their dogs — a place where wild animals have nothing to fear, except from the hobby hunters!

The hatred of hobby hunters

Hobby hunters in rural parts of Norway seem to respect the wolf as an animal. The wolf is a formidable hunter with skills that hobby hunters and their dogs can only dream of. At the same time, they see it as a threat to their way of life. Apparently, people who speak out in favor of wolf protection are stoking hobby hunters' hatred of the wolf.

They view cities as bad, chaotic places devoid of nature. The alliance of people from politics, resource management, science, and environmental protection that makes up the wolf lobby thus becomes the enemy of a natural life in the countryside. The wolf has become an icon of urban areas and, with that, the greatest threat to rural life.

The growing divide between city and countryside

Now that the wolf has returned, hobby hunters are confronted with the urban perspective on nature. They stay in the countryside precisely to avoid that kind of city life, and often feel «powerless» in the face of the urban population. From this feeling grows resistance to the wolf. A single extreme hobby hunter who shoots wolves is enough for the media to portray the entire rural population as wolf killers. In this way, misconceptions, misunderstandings, and mistrust between town and country grow. And the hobby hunters are the ones who come off worse.

They have lost their trust in the urban population and the academic world. They believe in their own observations and reject scientific studies that are considered valuable and objective in modern society. In other European countries, it has been shown that cooperation can work. Germany has found a common wolf strategy Why shouldn’t something like that work in Norway too? More on the animal welfare problem of hobby hunting.