Does anyone on the Forum hunt Lynx (Lynx lynx)? Where in Europe can they be hunted and under what restrictions? What would the cost be of obtaining permission and opportunity to hunt Lynx? Any and all information gratefully received!

We hunt lynx in Sweden,

the same way we hunt all large predators, each "county" gets X number of tags, each hunter has to register, this is only for the lynx hunt and then as season opens the hunt comences.

When all tags are filled, the season is closed.

Each hunter is resposible to ensure that there are tags left, a answering machine will tell the numbers left when called, one has to call at least three times a day.

We hunt lynx with driving dogs and treeing dogs, most is done as euro styled driven hunt however some people track and "ring" the lynx to it´s nightly resting three and shoot them there, serious sport if there ever was one.

To go and hunt lynx my best bet would be Lithuania or Estonia, they have far more of them there and a more local system for shooting them, a tag or an option for a tag can be bought,

second shooting over there has the added benefits of allowing for boar and bears to...

I will go to Värmland again this winter to take part in the lynx hunt there, it will be bloody cold I´ll tell you that for sure..

Best regards Chris

Me too, hunt lynx here in Norway. We mostly do the same as my swedish friend here does. Almost the same regulations too.

I have one on my wall!

Chris and Arild, thanks for your answers. There are a few people in the UK, of which I am one, who are trying to raise the issue of reintroducing the lynx to Britain. I am keen to see it regarded as a sportig animal as well as a part of our native wildlife that we have lost and might one day regain. Thanks for the information and I will follow up the Estonia / Lithuania tip. Good hunting to you both!

Chase-

reintroduce an animal that has been removed and one that is such a hard and feroicus predator?

You must be either joking or and this I am saying with the out most respect, be a few cards short of a full deck.

Governmental reasearch in Sweden has found that a male lynx will kill and eat, mostly roe at least once every two days, should there be more game around it will kill every day.

Females are less hard on game, the kill once every two or three days.

A group of Lynx, male/female and there annual two to three cubs can within weeks kill all roe in a county,

in Sweden there are about 6-12 roe per 100 acres of ground, a pair of lynx will kill all of then within a week and begone there after.

That is by the way these beast work they migrate to an area, kill of all game or at least all game that don´t take to hiding in plain sight, in the north of Sweden the roes are driven out to sleep in fields to ensure not being killed in there bedding grounds at night.


I also belive that lynx will manage to kill fallow too, at least up to yearlings and in short the whole of Brittain would be swept with a wacum, the lot killed by the lynx.

In Sweden the return of the five large predators, wolverin, bear, wolf and lynx causes a great stress on the relationship between rural and city, between hunters and conservatists.

By the way did we mention the liking the lynx had for killing dogs, a lynx vill easily maule and kill dogs up and to the size of labradors and retrivers,

in the UK were there is so little space for an animal like this to find peace and room the conflict will be at the loss of the people living in rural parts.

Having a loose bird dog working a fields edge will no longer be possible, the lynx hiding in the threes waiting,

all the raising og game like pheasants and partridge would be an no avail, the lynx are great killers there too, they stalk and or wait in hiding, feeding lots for pheasants would be like a smoergosbord for them.

Well to each his own, but I don´t think any one should be punished by having the lynx back in the wild.

The latest news I have recieved this year is that two volfes have moved in and made there home less than five kilometers from my hunting grounds, I have no great expextations for this season.

http://www.jagareforbundet.se/news/far_attackerades_i_r.asp varg=wolf

jägareförbundet is the Swedish hunters assc.

A bit more than 20 sheep has been slayed, and a lot of moose calves.

A bit of a rant, but still why would one try hard to get more of a headache?

Best regards Chris

Chris,

on the bright side you could try and get a nice wolf skin next season!

Alex, yes that would be a bit of an upside,

a current yet terrible joke goes as follows,

what are three datch hounds loose in the woods, wolfbait?

In sweden I will get sent to jail for some 3-5 years for shooting a wolf, I´d rather robb a bank get parole within a year and a half.

That is one higly priced hide I´ll tell you.

Best regards Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Alex.Y:
Chris,

on the bright side you could try and get a nice wolf skin next season!

only if he would like to go to jail and loose his hunting rights for a decade.

chris i know of your situation and you have my deepest kondolences, with the wolf moving in.

we will be doing test's next year in warmland with the malamute as a moose dog as so far it has shown good work as a soundless baying dog.
we will see next year.

best

peter

husqvarna m98:
what län are you talking about(the wolfes)?

Steffen-9,3 this is Stockholm,

researchers belive that there will be a new pack established here during this winter should the one perhaps two young wolfes not be dead through inter specie predation or a traffic accident.

Peter dk- thanks, I also would like to be able to hunt the one that hunts our dogs, sort of a level playing field

Within the next ten years perhaps, today it´s a no-no.

Värmland is perhaps one of my most favored places to hunt in Sweden, a friend on my shooting team has grounds there and pehaps next year I might join him for the moose hunt.

Best regards Chris

HuskyM98

Many thanks for your succinct reply to CC.

It is often the case that animals now lost to our lands were eradicated for a reason. Something that may not be immediately apparent to someone without an understanding of all the facets of sharing your ground with a new species.

I love the concept of a 'wild Britain' but contact with German and Scandinavian hunters has given me a better understanding of what it actually means to have wild boar, lynx, wolf and bear on your hunting grounds.

Sometimes I long for the chance to regularly see pigs on my ground - but seeing the damage a sounder will do to pasture in just one night convinces me that perhaps our countryside is already ideal for the hunter, farmer and sporting shooter.

Rgds Ian

On internet i find this photo



This Lynx is shoting in Russia the andress from Hunting web site is SLAVIANSKY TROPHY
Waidmannsheil!!

The only people I know who like wolves, lynx, and th elike are those who admire them in books and TV shows. Those of us who view them in our yard have a far, far different opinion of these animals.

I would sooner turn loose rats, rattlesnakes, and roaches in my house than to do anything that would increase the local wolf and lynx population. I am dead serious and not saying that to be cute. The roaches and snakes are far easier to kill.

Your forfathers eradicated lynx and wolves for a reason. Well, as I typed that I realized mine did too. But now the government gives them protection. I have noticed that the president and governor do not have wolves, lyx, bears, and bobcats in their yeard, as I do. If they lived here for a year they would change the law to put a bounty on the beasts.

Chris,

Thanks for a very succinct reply about the Lynx. There are too many people in this country that claim to want to re-establish predator populations both mammal and avian without thinking oabout the consequences.

The RSPB, the leading bird charity here is spending (and raising) huge ammounts of money in order to reestablish various raptors. We have releases of Buzzards near us and they arereleasing harriers, and all manner of other raptors on the northern moors. No one pays attention to the overall damage any single species conservation attempt does to bidiversity.

I too was like Ian says keen to see pigs n my ground. In fact several of my friends went so far as to "Go Easy" on them in order to help them establish. Since speaking to people more knowledgable than myself I too am now of the mind to shoot them on sight if they arrive.

Rgds,
FB

Thank you all for your responses to my posting. As Fallow Buck points out, any reintroduction has to be very carefully planned and the effects on biodiversity and the aspirations of landowners and rural people must be taken into account. Certainly this has not always been the case. However, there are some interesting precedents: release of European beaver, which has just happened in Scotland, has been widely welcomed in the other Eurpoean nations where this has taken place. Otters were returned to many river systems in England amid great concerns from fish farmers and owners of sporting fisheries, yet now fishermen regard an otter sighting as a great bonus to their day's sport and the otter has proven to be the perfect antidote to the American mink that has decimated water vole and water bird populations: so if you want to see water voles and water rails back on our rivers then you need an otter to move in. This is an example of the predatory effects observed by the Game Conservancy Trust in their study of duck breeding performance in Canada: the loss of apex predators such as wolf and coyote resulted in a booming fox population that decimated breeding ducks. Bringing wolves and coyotes back resulted in fewer foxes and more ducks.
So the case put by some, that the release of lynx to UK would result in wholesale slaughter of game assets may be intuitive, but not correct. For instance, if lynx were present on the Scottish Highlands might they preferentially predate red fox and roe (as diet data from Switzerland would suggest), thereby reducing fox predation on ground nesting birds such as black grouse, red grouse and capercaillie, reducing the tick burden on the moors through removal of sheep and roe on the open hill (ticks carry diseases that affect game birds)?
I fully appreciate and agree with the comment that rural people are subject to government policies formulated by urban politicians, but that puts a responsibility on rural people to develop strategies that will affect political and bureaucratic decisions.

Marc, Ian and Fallow Buck,

thank you all, Marc, I feel for you as our situation is turning closer to yours by the day.

Writing that previous post I felt a bit of pent up recentment/anger, how any one can acctually wish to have lynx back in an area where it has been gone for how long, 2-3-400 years?

Do anyone over there have any idea of the damages they do?



This is what one would come to see, in multiples every time one would get out on the grounds.

This link is the offical wild life damage foundation results in Sweden, it´s an government sponsored foundation that carries out research in the damage from predators and to investigate and settle claims for compensation for damages.

http://www.viltskadecenter.se/index.php?option=com_cont...d=42#rovdjursangrepp

It´s in Swedish however the graphs are still easy enough to read,

the graph for Lynx, lodjur in swedish is steadily rising, each year at least 20 dogs are killed by the lynx and this in Sweden,

on your guys island were things are so much denser, I would be to frightened to even begin too calculate the numbers.



How many of you own or have friends that own sheep, they are a preferred snack for the lynx, a male can kill a whole herd just for pure sport, they will only eat a small portion.

I might be opinionated about this, however I feel that where there is a choice and the one choice will lead to irrevocable damages well then I better not.

Regarding the issue of wild boar, in Sweden in general there is room enough for them however farmers and hunters alike are trying there best to shoot them all in the south of Sweden, ie were the land is the most similar to the UK.

The crop and land damages are in the tens of millions of Swedish kronor every year.

Well enough about this then.

Best regards to you all

Cranbourne,

There are two fundamental problems with your argument.

firstly by using beavers as and example, they are entirelyy different to introducing a skilled apex predator. As such it gives no justification for the release of Wolf, Lynx, Bear etc. All these animals are voracious predators and cover huge territories unlike the beaver or otter. In places like the Canadian wilderness or areas in scandanavia where grouse are around, there is no comercial farming per se. As such the prey of opportunity may well be the fox. However in the UK try and get more than a couple of miles away from a sheep and I doubt you would manage it.

Secondly, the land they inhabited a few hundred years ago, (even 150 years ago) is far removed from the land we cal rural england now. As I mentioned above there is a far higher density of people and domestic animals/livestock now than there ever was.

Some so called enlightened people tell me that a fox doesn't actually do much harm because only 5% f it's diet is made up of ground nesting birds. What they don't realise is that they eat that 5% during the spring while hens are on the nests. They destroy a whole years beeding success in those few short weeks, and then go back to raiding bins or eating myxy rabbits....

Anyway, as topical as this is at present it is unfortunate in my mind that the mass perception is that these animals being reintroduced has no detriment to the wider environment.

If you want more wild duck then set up a series of mink rafts. They are the easiest animal to trap when done properly.

In fact the only endangered species I could possible think we should bring back, as it would be a fabulous benefit to our national biodiversity is the old gamekeeper!!

I'll get off my soap box now before I fall off!!

FB

quote:

Originally posted by Marc_Stokeld:
The only people I know who like wolves, lynx, and th elike are those who admire them in books and TV shows. Those of us who view them in our yard have a far, far different opinion of these animals.

I would sooner turn loose rats, rattlesnakes, and roaches in my house than to do anything that would increase the local wolf and lynx population. I am dead serious and not saying that to be cute. The roaches and snakes are far easier to kill.

Your forfathers eradicated lynx and wolves for a reason. Well, as I typed that I realized mine did too. But now the government gives them protection. I have noticed that the president and governor do not have wolves, lyx, bears, and bobcats in their yeard, as I do. If they lived here for a year they would change the law to put a bounty on the beasts.

Here in Estonia we have all of the animals you pointed out, lynx, wolfes, bear, and wild boar. All those species have their part in our environment. I'm hunter and I'm really lucky to be a part of such rich nature. So it would be better to ask from someone who has experience before making such untrue statement. Regarding lynx and roe. Our lynx population hasn't been so numerous fore long time and the same goes for the roe at the same time. So where is the truth ?

Qnn-

first off as english most likely is your second language,

I belive that you are misstaken in regards to the circumstances involved here.

You guys are allowed to hunt the large predators yes?

We are not, to large extent and the americans even less so do realise that there is a difference in how the game behaves.

Second,

how was last years winter in Estonia, was it cold with lots of snow?

If not, well I for one knows what a good winter does to the Swedish population of roe, it´s halfed at the end of the winter.

Imagine a situation where you are not allowed to hunt any of the large ones and they are just becoming less and less fearfull of man and kills of all the moose and roe?

That is the situation in the north of Sweden.

So all in all, perhaps a bit of restraint would be in order.

Best regards Chris

QNN-

If we could hunt wolves and lynx as you can then things would be fine here. The problem is that you will literally get in more trouble for killing a wolf or lynx than for killing a man in many instances. That is no exaggeration, but is totally serious.

Just yesterday a judge in our national court system overturned a new law that would let a person in Minnesota kill a wolf in defense of his livestock and pets. This came on the SAME DAY that our Department on Natural Resources said that we have at least as many, if not more than the maximum, number of wolves that have ever lived in Minnesota at any point in time. You see, they have complete protection and that is why they almost ate my dog, went after my neighbor’s horses, and have killed livestock and pets all over the state.

Killing a lynx would be worse than killing a wolf. A judge would come down very hard on you for that.

We already have black bears killing 19-24% (by the conservative studies) of all deer fawns born every year. Some reputable studies have shown the number to be 40%. The Greenies are constantly putting pressure on the DNR to increase restrictions on bear hunting. Wolves will kill an additional 450-600,000 deer each year. That is ONLY in the one state of Minnesota.

By the way, I have been to MANY places around this world and still today I say without hesitation that the most beautiful women in the world are from Estonia! As my Finnish brothers always said, “They are a different species down there!!!â€

CC-

I about fell out of my chair when heard about the reintroduction of beavers a while back. As man who grew up having to trap property damaging beavers, I can assure you that none of the people who decided to release them every lived around a lot of beavers. I can remember telling friends about it when I read that some time back and every single one of them laughed and said, “Those goofy bastards don’t have a clue what they just did, do they?â€

Beavers do hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in the Southeast US alone each year. They look cute at first, but 30 years later when they have flooded people’s houses and killed massive amounts of forest land, I want you to check back in with me and let me know how cute you think they look. If you start trapping them from Day 1 you can keep them in manageable numbers. Otherwise, all of Scotland and northern England will turn into a huge inland lake.

It all goes back to theory vs. reality. In theory it sounds cool and they look so cute on TV. In reality, these are 3 very, very damaging animals that immediately run out of control if their numbers are kept in check.

European Beaver are not the same species as US Beaver and I believe do not dam streams in the same way.

I have to say that the proposal to reintroduce the wolf to the UK is a lunatic scheme as a) domestic stock would be easy prey, b) they need a huge territory which would cover many estates and c) they would have to be European Wolves which are scarce and almost impossible to harvest for reintroduction.

The proposal for the lynx is slightly less lunatic but I think we have to be very very careful before reintroducing a top predator back into these islands.

quote:

Originally posted by sewinbasher:
c) they would have to be European Wolves which are scarce and almost impossible to harvest for reintroduction.

i don't think the animal fanatics would really care.
they're cute and just want to fetch a stick, right?

Norwegian and Swedish wolfes are mainly from the Finnish-Russian population, dont know about the continental countries.

but when your had enough and want to shoot them, the whole world will "care".
a couple a years a go when they shot 3-7 wolfes here(don't remember)freaks from all over Europe came to protest.

Not that it´s really relevant to this thread but a few nights ago the same farm that has been hit before had the wolf come by and kill yet another number of sheep.

I hunt less than 5 km from the farm,

There will be no loose dog hunting done this year unless the wolf has a traffic accident or leaves.

http://jagareforbundet.se/news/annu_en_vargattack_i.asp

In short I am looking forward to a very minimal hunting season, no loose dogs, no real hunting for roe, fox or hare as snow comes, no moose hunting either.

By the way today is opening day for loose dog hunting for roe, due note that I am at the office and not in the woods.

Best regards Chris

Chris,

where does the law stand if you are out hunting and the wolf tried to attack you, and you shot it,

would the powers above throw the book at you then?

Solid Question, and within my field of knowledge, according to Swedish penal code chapter 24 paragraf 4, are all men (read persons) entiteled to use necessary force, to safe guard, human and other life forms, human security and and a few other things.

However the force used has to be in proportion to the threat posed and the damage or possible damage and not be othervise unjustifiable.


The current belive in Sweden is that wolfs have not harmed or killed a man in modern times, even though there is a documented case in Canada.

So in short am I under threat from a wolf and I shoot it, I will be charged and most likly convicted of felony "wolficide".

Should I have shouted out a warning, fired at least one warning shot and attempted to leave the location, then I might be excused.

This is if I am under attack, however should my dog be under attack, dogs are known to, and accepted by Swedish government, to be prone to be attacked then I have the right to protect my dog.

Paragraf 28 of the hunters rights protocol declares that I as a guardian of a dog has the right to defend my dog with necessary force, even deadly should I find that the dog is under attack or the attack is imminent.


Any and all use of deadly force towards a wolf and or other predator out of season will yield a felony charge and investigation, however as of latly more than a few justifiable shootings have taken place and things are looking up a bit.

Below is a list of dogs killed by wolf in the 2008/09 season so far.
http://www.jagareforbundet.se/svenskjakt/vargdodadehunda/


Best regards Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Alex.Y:
Chris,

where does the law stand if you are out hunting and the wolf tried to attack you, and you shot it,

would the powers above throw the book at you then?

Totally off topic I know, but I was very surprised seeing a picture of my landlord here on the forum...

So chris,

you can shoot a wolf to protect your dog but not to protect your livestock?

Even if you catch tha wolf in the act of trying to kil livestock?

Rgds,
FB

Eeeeerrr ehhh

sorry about that, I have to correct and or amend my previous post,

Yes FB, you are allowed to shoot a wolf (any of the large predators) if they are in the progress of killing your livestock, however one is not allowed to enticipate the attack or rouse the wolf to attack,

but yes during an actuall killing you are allowed to protect the animnal.

As another byline this season there has been more than ten incidents with bears, however man has yet to be killed.

A young man, age 15 was thrown in a creek by a bear protecting a kill, he sprained his wrist and came away with a fist full of bear fur

two fathers and there two sons was accompanied by a yearling bear as he played, stalked, followed then along a bike path/road,


a hunter was slightly mauled by a bear as he was part of the crew sorting out a bad shot on said bear, a few bite marks and claw lines on his chest,

not all unlike injuries after a wisit to a "hen house".

Regading the talley for wolf killed dogs this year a few more has been added, making it to 10 or 12 this year alone.

Well better get back to work.

Best regards Chris

I'm not going to try to argue one way or the other on the issue of Lynx re-introduction. But I would like to point to the experience with that exact endeavour here in Switzerland.

For whatever reasons or with whatever background, the western part of Switzerland (most notably part of the Jura mountains and the Canton of Bern) had Lynx reintroduced some decades back. Apparently, reintroductions were both planned (legal) and unplanned (illegal), the latter presumably done by "well meaning" greenies...

For the hunters in the areas concerned, this has turned out a VERY controversial issue. No, it is not like the Lynx have eaten every living roe or chamois (on top of more than a few domestic sheep etc). Rather, the game animals have become extremely shy and almost impossible to hunt.

Needless to say, the introduction of the large predator has not been to the liking of the hunting community. This in turn has resulted in more than a few (illegal) shootings of the Lynx - some of which have been radio collared. That in turn has generated more bad blood, and needless to say, the press has had a field day being able to portray the hunters as blood thirsty outlaws, and themselves (and associated greenies) as shining examples of nature conservation.

Much to the consternation of the hunters, some Lynx were even resettled from the now too large population in the original release area. Mind you, the intended area of settlement has been rejected by the Lynx, who have sought out their own territory. Proving yet again, how successful man often is when planning "controlled" releases of non-indigenous game.

- mike

Not to mention that the lynx suceeds in 85% of their attemts to kill roe deer or fallow deer.

I know a guy who tracked a lynx that killed 14 roe deers in one day. Another lynx killed 6 roe deer where I used to hunt - in one day (tracking in the snow, these carcasses were found between two single night "beds" so this was definetly 24h tolls).

When lynx establishes itself in an area the area will be swept clean of deer. One will see more lynx footprints than deer footprints in the snow. The deer population will gain somewhat after 3-4 years,

lets not forget that the lynx doent always kill to eat...on numerous occasions it kills for the pleasure of it

I'd like to say that country with predators is more interesting to hunt. They are in the nature with reason and we should try to control their numbers. It is shame that because of farming some predators are in endanger. I've had a herd of sheep years ago and every day was a battle with wolves or jackals, rarely with lynx. Anyway it was a pleasure to meet them in the wildernes and shoot them if I was allowed.
Unfortunately shooting a wolf or a lynx is strictly controled even though the number of the predators is great.
This is an experience from Croatia.

In the UK, the Human is now the primary predator and this has been the position since the last wolf was killed several hundred years ago. Whilst there isn't really a balance of nature in the sense of an equilibrium, introducing new predators back into an ecosystem that has continued to evolve without them may possibly set up huge population swings and have other unforseen consequenses for agriculture.
What many fail to recognise is the massive changes in farming and livestock management since the wolf was last here. The "wild" animals we have exist in an overlaid fashion on a landscape that is managed in various ways for agriculture.
Those in favour of predator re-introduction in the UK are trying to insert a missing piece from a 17C jigsaw back into a 21stC puzzle.

I agree that re-introduction could do more harm than good in the UK.