sv flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by TT.

Court stops Swedish wolf hunt in 2026 – had been criticized by the EU

by AI | 15.Dec 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Last summer, the Swedish government decided to lower the minimum level for wolves from 300 to 170 animals, which was criticized by the EU Commission. Now a court is stopping all planned Swedish wolf hunting for 2026.

The Administrative Court in Sweden is stopping all planned licensed wolf hunting in 2026. Photo: Bernd Thissen/dpa

Stockholm – A Swedish court is stopping all planned licensed wolf hunting in 2026. The decision applies to all five counties where hunting was to have begun on January 2.

Among others, Sweden’s largest environmental organization, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, had appealed the county administrative boards’ decision on licensed hunting, arguing that “the government has opened the door to extensive and illegal licensed hunting of a protected and severely threatened species.”

The Swedish government’s decision to lower the so‑called reference value – how many wolves are needed for a favorable conservation status – from 300 to 170 animals has previously received sharp criticism from the EU. The European Commission considers the decision unscientific and believes it risks the species’ long‑term viability.

The Administrative Court in Luleå, which made the decision, writes that the county administrative boards have not been able to disprove that the hunt would “make it more difficult to maintain a favorable conservation status of the wolf population in Sweden.”

The County Administrative Board is the government’s representative in each Swedish county.

Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren does not believe the last word has been said, and expects the decision to be appealed.

(15 December)