The year-round protection of wolves from hunting in Finland was lifted on New Year's Day, as a controversial update to the country's Hunting Act went into force.
By 7pm on the first day of the new rules, 12 wolves had been killed in different parts of the country, according to the Finnish Wildlife Agency’s updated quota tracker.
Finland's parliament voted in December in favour of lifting the year-round ban on the hunting of wolves, which has mostly been in effect since 1973, due to concerns about their growing numbers.
There were about 430 wolves in Finland in 2024, according to estimates from the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
"The government takes seriously citizens' growing concerns regarding wolves and large carnivores," Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah (CD) said at the time.
The new law means that wolves may now be hunted during periods designated by the government. This year, the protection period runs from 11 February to 30 November.
Outside of those dates, the animals may be hunted based on regional quotas — with the total quota for this year set by the agriculture ministry at 65.
Jörgen Hermansson from the Southwest Finland Wildlife Agency told Yle that hunting in a particular region will cease as soon as the quota is reached.
"The aim of hunting is to reduce the wolf population in a controlled manner. Removing entire packs makes it manageable and allows us to anticipate what kind of effects the removal of packs will have on the population," Hermansson explained.
In November, Finland’s independent Council of Regulatory Impact Analysis sharply criticised the government's drafting of the wolf-hunting legislation, saying the process bypassed regular procedure and failed to carry out an impact analysis.
