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CURRENT NEWS:
- Hunters want to decimate wolves in Poland
- Example of protest letters
- Poland: Minister of Environment signed allowance to shoot 4 wolves in Bieszczady
OUT-OF-DATE / archive:
ULV - WILCZY CYBERAKTYWIZM
HUNTERS WANT
TO DECIMATE WOLVES IN POLAND
5.IV.2006
[OUT-OF-DATE]
The Polish Hunting Association (Polski Zwiazek Lowiecki - PZL) has made a motion to the Minister of Environment, Jan Szyszko, to enable to shoot 60 wolves each year. The hunting season would last from 1 of September to 31 of March. An argumentation of PZL is an absurd - that in Greece and Finland hunting for wolves is legal. The hunters are supported by sheep keepers from Bieszczady Mountains and local governments of these regions.
According to calculations made by scientists from Mammal Research Institute (Zaklad Badania Ssakow) of Polish Academy of Science (Polska Akademia Nauk - PAN) a number of wolves in Poland is estimated at 446 to 625 individuals (average: 535; researches from 2004 show that there are 510 wolves in Poland). The hunters from the Polish Hunting Association claim that on the territory of Poland there is a larger number of these animals - from 1200 to 1300 individuals. The differences may be caused by method of calculating animals. The scientists count wolves by their trails but the hunters are counting wolves in hunting districts (territories of wolves usually cross hunting districts what may cause that one wolf is counted several times). What is more interesting, in spite of opinion of biologists from PAN Bieszczadian local governments tell that the ones who manipulates the numbers are. ecologic activists.
If the numbers given by biologists are close to truth, then shooting 60 wolves means loss of over 10% of population. The results of killing can be even worse than this - packs of wolves can be destroyed, which may cause e.g. death of pups. What is more, destroying of packs may cause more frequent attacks on farm animals, because lone wolves have more problems with hunting wild animals then full, well organized pack of wolves.
When in winter of 2002 voivode of Podkarpacie, Zdzisław Siewierski, appealed to Ministry of Environment to get agreement for killing 50 wolves, mass protests of public opinion trounced that Ministry asked for opinion of The State Council for Nature Conservation. The Council gave thumbs down and Ministry couldn't give approval for shooting.
If you want to help wolves, please, send letters with an appeal to the Ministry to turn down an application of PHA. In the letter you may also ask to Ministry, instead of approval for killing, started to promote methods of protection farm animals from wolves' attacks. Previous actions showed, that officials in Ministry have problems with getting and answering e-mails and with internet, so this time the letters should be sent by traditional post in paper form (if it's possible, you should send registered letters, but casual is at a last resort also good.
The address of Ministry:
Sz.P. Jan Szyszko
Ministerstwo Środowiska
ul. Wawelska 52/54
00-922 Warszawa
POLAND
Order rule:
1. You should sign the letter with your name - politicians don't take
anonymous letters seriously,
2. Letters should be polite!
The example letters are given below, but you can write your own version.
Don't forget to sign it with your name!
The example letters you can also get in .DOC and .RTF format.
EXAMPLE LETTERS
5.IV.2006
Mr. Jan Szyszko
Ministry of Environment
Ul. Wawelska 52/54
00-922 Warszawa
According to an application made by The Polish Hunting Association to the Ministry of Environment, concerning the establishment of derogation on hunting for wolves in season from 1st of September to 31st of March, using the methods of individual hunting.
Dear Ministry,
I am writing to you with reference to the news I have found on The Polish Hunting Association's website concerning abovementioned application. I would like to ask you to dismiss this application.
The hunters have been making slash-and-burn campaign for wolves for many years and I think that some things said by them need to be clarified.
1. According to calculations made by scientists from The Mammal Research Institute from Polish Academy of Science a number of wolves in Poland is estimated at 446 to 625 individuals (average: 535), not 1200-1300 as hunters from the Polish Hunting Association claim. Taking into consideration that hunters want to kill 60 wolves each year, it is easy to understand why the number of wolves given by them is so much higher than the one estimated by scientists. At the same time, it is obvious that shooting so large number of individuals of endangered species is an absurd.
2. The estimations carried out from the year 2001 show that the number of wolves in Poland is constant or slightly decreasing. Taking into consideration that the whole population of wolves in Poland is strongly diffused, it has problems with free moving from one place to another and poaching, shooting even a small number of wolves may cause decrease in the size of population. The shooting of 60 wolves means 12% decrease in its quantitive size, but if you take into consideration, that alfa individuals of packs may be killed (males and females as well), it may lead to disintegratation of many packs and in consequence to death of an offspring. The lone wolves also may hunt alone, which means that they will choose easier pray to catch - the farm animals. The events foreseen above lead to further attacks and putting pressure on these animals by some group and create another cause for reducing the wolf population.
3. Polish Hunting Associationclaims, that wolf hunting in Finland is legal although the population there is 120 individuals (another example of oversizing the number of wolves, there are no more then 100 wolves in Finland) is an absurd and illogicality, because if we think in this way, we may say that there is no democracy in Belorussia so we can make it like that in Poland.
I am interested in an environment protection and ecological problems and I am strongly concerned by some groups putting pressure to reduce a number of wolves in Poland (this species plays very important role in ecosystem) and telling lies about these animals to the public opinion. I think that in this particular situation, it is a duty of Ministry of Environment to protect this species from extinction.
At the same time, farmers complain that wolves kill their farm animals. I think that there is a compromise solution to this problem. The farmers should be educated how to protect their animals from wolves' attacks. The shooting is not a solution.
I hope that similarly as in case of an application of voivode of Podkarpacie from 7th of January 2002, number OŚ-V-6120-1/02 concerning shooting 50 wolves, the Ministry would ask The State Council for Nature Conservation for opinion, which surely will not allow another shooting.
Yours sincerely
[SIGNATURE]
POLAND: MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT
SIGNED ALLOWANCE TO SHOOT 4 WOLVES
31.XII.2005
[OUT-OF-DATE]
On 8th of December 2005 the Secretary of Ministry of Environment Jan Szyszko allowed to shoot 4 wolves in Czarna, Lutowiska and Ustrzyki Dolne Communes (game districts 55 and 57). This decision was an answer for an application placed by cattle-breeders form Rabe village. This decision came into a force on 22nd of December 2005 and is valid until 28th of February inclusive. This approval is restricted by several conditions, but still, it is an approval for shooting in spite that wolves are under absolute protection of law in Poland.
It is worth mentioning that before giving a permission by Ministry local media informed about professed attack of pack of wolves on a teenager in the end on November. As it was shown later, the information was false. According to "Gazeta Wyborcza" (polish newspeper) from 12th of December 2005 "It turned out that a teenager was walking home in the evening and was scared by something. So he stopped his cousin driving a car and after some time they saw wolves in a car lights" (full text of this article you can find in Gazeta Wyborcza's archive on-line, in polish). So, it is obvious that the threat was made to seem more dangerous to justify shooting.
We ask you to send protest letters to Ministry of Environment against shooting wolves (they can be very short, but of course longer letters can be more effective) to the addresses given below:
Sekretariat.Ministra@mos.gov.pl , Polish Parlament: Jan.Szyszko@sejm.pl.
You can write in English as well.
The applications for the approval to shoot wolves are often justified by information, that wolves attack and kill farm animals. So ask in your letters if the Ministry instead of approval for killing wolves could educate breeders how to protect their animals against such attacks. You can also ask if The State Council for Nature Conservation passed judgment on this approval (some years ago a lack of such opinion stopped shooting wolves).
You can also wrote and send paper letters to the Minister:
Jan Szyszko
Ministerstwo Środowiska
ul. Wawelska 52/54
00-922 Warszawa
Order rule:
1. You should sign the letter with your name - politicians don't take anonymous letters seriously,
2. Letters should be polite!
9th.XI.2004 - THE WOLFISH ACTION DAY
4.XI.2004
[OUT-OF-DATE]
According to news from Slovakia (see below) we suggest to organize on 9th november 2004 the international day of pro-wolf actions - The Wolfish Action Day. If you are in touch with any wildlife defenders organization, try to organize a piquet near Slovak Embassy or Consulate in your country/city. If it is impossible to do it, sent a fax/letter to the Slovak Embassy/Consulate and demand to stop shooting.
We also ask you to send appropriate protest letters (addresses below). If you know for sure that there is organized a piquet in your country/city, send information about it to n13@blebla.indyw.most.org.pl (delete "blebla." from mail address) with a subject "ULV - action". Inform us where this demonstration is going to be and what organizations are making this piquet.
UPDATE: How do to help yet?
More informations
SLOVAK WOLVES ENDANGERED
21.X.2004
[OUT-OF-DATE]
Slovakian Ministry of Environment signed allowance to shoot to least 63 bears. Those bears have not done any damage and have not wounded any humans. Last year allowance was signed for 71 animals (and the limit has not been fulfilled). Additionally 3-10 bears a year are killed for doing damages (and we do not complain about this now). Last year hunters shoot at least _112 wolves_ and that is equivalent to the number of wolves born a year. Probably similar number of wolves will be shot this year.
Both wolf (Canis lupus L.) and bear (Ursus arctos L.) are protected under Bernen Convention and European directive 92/43/EEC.
Since wolves an bears live near Slovak borders killing animals in Slovakia will have impact on the other countries (including Poland).
Your help is needed to stop the slaughter.
- Inform everybody who might be concerned (including NGO's and your government)
- Send email with your concern about matter to Slovak Minister of Environment minister@enviro.gov.sk (http://www.enviro.gov.sk/minis/mini_zivot.htm) with a copy (CC) to
- Write a letter with complains to:
Ministerstvo Zivotného prostredia SR
László Miklós, minister
Námestie Ludovíta Stúra 1
812 35 Bratislava
Slovakia
Ministerstvo pôdohospodárstva SR
Zsolt Simon, minister
Dobrovifova 12
812 66 Bratislava
Slovakia
UPDATE: HOW DO TO HELP YET?
MORE INformATIONS
1.XI.2004
[OUT-OF-DATE]
Slovakian Ministry of Environment signed allowance to shoot to least 63 bears. Those bears have not done any damage and have not wounded any humans. Last year allowance was signed for 71 animals (and the limit has not been fulfilled). Additionally 3-10 bears a year are killed for doing damages (and we do not complain about this now). Last year hunters shoot at least 112 wolves and that is equivalent to the number of wolves born a year. Probably similar number of wolves will be shot this year.
As the things will follow in this direction, those carnivores will come to extinction in this region. They need our help! We cannot forbid hunters to shot animals, when they got permission from Slovakian Ministry of Environment to do it, but we can put a pressure on the Ministry to cancel this approval!
Tourism is the main source of income for Slovakian economy. Many people from Poland, Czech Republic and Germany spend their holidays in Slovakian Mountains and leave their money there. When people would boycott this region in aim to express their disagree for massacre of wolves and bears, Slovaks would loose their income. And they may put pressure on their government to cancel this permission given to kill bears and wolves by hunters to restore tourist activity in their region.
We call to start a boycott of Slovakian tourist industry. Let's spend holidays in other - also interesting places! Maybe the Slovakian government would understands economical points, when ecological and humane are too difficult for it.
There is another way, more for non-government organisations (NGOs) then for an ordinary people. Slovakian economy takes a big income from selling wood from Slovakian forest to other countries. NGOs should start campaign to urge enterprises that cooperate with Slovakian producers of wood to change their providers.
The problem of bears is more complicated in this case. Those animals are under protection in Poland. But animals don't follow human rules and prohibitions and cross the borders. In Poland they are safe, but they can be easily killed in Slovakia. The wildlife is our - human - common treasure. It can't be that several meters of space can change animal sanctuary into battlefield! Law of Poland and Slovakia - both are members of European Union - should be harmonised in this case.
In democratic countries nation can influence on government to change the law. So we can put a pressure on Slovaks to force them to say a word in defence of their wildlife!
Lets' start a boycott! Do not spend our holidays in Slovakian Tatra Mountains! Save wolves and bears from slaughter!
POLISH WOLVES: BIALOWIEZA
15.I.2004
[OUT-OF-DATE]
Polish Minister of Environment, Czesław Śleziak, has given a permission to shot three wolves in Bialowieski Forrest. Although the number of wolves that are to be shoot is small, there is a danger that this decision may activate hunting lobby to put pressure on government. Wolves in Poland are under annual protection.
Please, we would like to ask you to send protest letters to Polish politicians and government officials (addresses given below). You can write in English as well.
Order rules
1. You should sign the letter with your name - politicians don't take anonymous letters seriously,
2. Letters should be polite.
Adresses:
Czeslaw Sleziak (minister): Minister@mos.gov.pl
Ewa Symonides: Glowny.Konserwator.Przyrody@mos.gov.pl
minister's office: Biuro.Ministra@mos.gov.pl