400 dogs killed by wolves since 1995 in Scandinavia
During the past 23 years, 617 wolf attacks have been registered against dogs in Scandinavia. A total of 400 dogs have been killed by wolves.
Hunting dogs are most vulnerable to attacks, and eight out of ten dogs taken by wolves were used for hunting wrote Nationen newspaper and a report from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (Nina).
The majority of the recorded wolf attacks occurred in central Sweden, while just over one-fifth took place in Norway.
“We know little about the causes of wolves attacking dogs, but it may be due to the hunting of prey, defence of territory and domination,” said researcher John Odden.
He is one of the people behind the report “Wolf Attack on Dogs in Scandinavia”, which shows that the attacks take place between September and December, near Wolf lairs.
A survey conducted in connection with the report shows that dog owners are somewhat more negative to wolves than the rest of the population.
“It is especially the owners of hunting dogs who dislike wolves, and we see clear differences between owners of hunting dogs and those we have categorised as owners of “other dogs,” said researcher Olve Krange.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
