Volume II, Issue 5, Febuary 2, 2001 Hello again and Happy Imbolc, This week's issue will be along one but then I have a very soft spot for wolves. This week has also been one for looking for a new home for the Whispers website. Go.com according to the morning news Monday is going to be leaving the web. So this week has been spent looking for websites that fit my standards. NO pop ups, I find them really annoying, enough space I don't have to worry about running out for a while, and tech support that doesn't make me feel like I'm an idiot for asking a question. I think I have found a place and will send the link out as soon as I have the pages moved over. (I hate moving even virtually; it's a pain in the arse.) Sheila K. Watkins Web page until the move: Submissions: Zeliziw@n... ~*~*~*~ IllUSIONS Pagan Slave Girl Come and sit with me my dear Let me lend to you my ear Share with me your worldly views Horoscopes and daily news Sit down here by my side Fill my heart with so much pride You're an angel on my path I'll listen to you as you pass Now I'm done don't you fear I will never shed a tear Now please go out to play I never listened anyway ~*~*~*~ Cool Link of the week Imbolc related links on The Bee. Everything from info on Bride, to rituals, to greeting cards, etc. If your not in Iowa (like I am) and can go into the Atlantian and say "Hi Barb, I need this" then The Bee is a great place to go. They also have a Pagan Collage scholarship the first recipient was from Iowa also. Both of these are unpaid endorsements Sheila ~*~*~*~ Help the Norwegian Wolf! By Mr. Bones I am writing to ask for cooperative assistance in what I feel is an important matter. In Norway, We have a few wolves running free in the wild. We do not have enough wolves as yet to support a healthy flock: genetically etc. yet the authorities want to butcher 2/3 of that number. There are many people who are against having any wolves at all in Norway. The "cull" was originally officially planned to take place in early February but there are now rumors that it will be done secretly before the official time so we are no longer clear as to when this action will be executed. We who are against this are doing what we can here in Norway to oppose this action in a sensible and responsible manner. The balance of percentages between those for and those against the slaughter are very close to even with those against leading by one percent or so. The ones who don't know are around 18 percent. Unfortunately the vested interests of industry seem to be on the side that wants to destroy the wolves and they tend to carry more weight than ordinary citizens who operate on a one-man one-vote system. In order to counter this it is my belief that we need the support of international opinion. You can help the Norwegian wolf to live by simply by clicking on a link, which will automatically send a letter of protest to the relevant seats of power. Click on the link below! Protest against the slaughter of the Norwegian wolves! I have included a couple of links to impeccable sources, which will verify the veracity of my claim. I have also included an article written by Viggo Ree of The Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society which will give you some background information concerning the plight of these, necessary and magnificent, animals in Norway. Both his virtual and his bricks and mortar addresses are included. For those who wish to formulate a few choice words of their own, you can send in your letter of protest to one or more of the following addresses. They are the email accounts of an assortment of Norwegian people who all have the power to make a difference. Several of them represent political parties, which are clearly in favor of the destruction of the wolves in Norway. miljovernministeren@m... siri.bjerke@m... postmottak@s... stein.lier.hansen@m... info@s... sv.postmottak@s... hill-marta.solberg@s... stortingsgr@v... hilde.frafjord-johnson@s... stortingsgruppen@h... For those who wish to send a hard copy of their protest letter the postal address to the Norwegian Minister of the Environment is: Minister of the Environment Siri Bjerke Ministry of Environment Box 8013 Dep. N-0030 OSLO Norway Telephone: +47-22249090 Thanks for your help!!! New York Times Norway's Plan To Kill Wolves Decried OSLO, Norway (AP) -- A growing wolf population in southern Scandinavia has both farmers and conservationists howling in a conflict over hunting the endangered species. New York Times Sweden's Welcome Friend Is Oslo's Big Bad Wolf - by WALTER GIBBS "SLO, Jan. 20 - Norwegian wildlife officials, who fend off yearly protests against whaling and sealing, have announced a tentative plan to shoot most of Norway's two dozen wolves." Here is the article by Viggo Ree of The Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society. It has been and will continue to be updated. Those who wish to read about the latest developments, as well as view maps that will give a clearer picture of the geography, can go to: Main article about the wolf hunt: Latest news (25.1.01): Dear wolf friends, On behalf of the Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society I have written an information article about the planned wolf hunt in Norway. The article also gives some background data about the wolf's situation in Scandinavia. Since the hunt may start within a short time - may be this week – it is important that this information is spread quickly to as many organizations and persons as possible. I hope you will be able to help us in this way. Please send me some information back about where this article is forwarded and used. Yours sincerely Viggo Ree INFORMATION REPORT: Roeyse, Norway 22. January 2001 NEARLY HALF OF ALL NORWEGIAN WOLVES ARE PLANNED TO BE KILLED THIS WINTER By Viggo Ree Information adviser The Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society The Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society ( )has been asked - and wishes - to inform about the planned slaughter of nearly half of all Norwegian wolves. Background The wolf is an endangered species in Norway - also in Sweden. During most of the 20th century the species was on the brink of extinction, but single individuals and pairs have, the whole time, been present in Scandinavia: intermittently reproducing and forming sporadic packs. A pack consists of a minimum of a mated pair and one cub. The official numbers ranged between 5 and 15 individuals in Scandinavia from the second world war until the 1980s. As from the 1960s Hedmark in SE-Norway became the most important wolf county in our country (on the border to Co. Dalarna and Co. Varmland in Sweden).In this border area wolves were shot in 1964 and 1965. The species was protected in Sweden in 1966 and in Norway in 1973. It is deemed probable that in the 1970s reproduction occurred in Co.Hedmark, since a pack of 6-12 individuals was tracked in the municipalities of Trysil and Aamot during the winter 1976/77. Animals from this group survived in these border forests until the beginning of the 1980s. In Northern Sweden breeding occurred in 1978, but the 8 individuals comprising this pack were killed (1979) both legally and illegally and disappeared after a few months. During the end of the 1970's and the beginning of the 1980's the Norwegian wolf researcher Petter Wabakken tracked at least 3 wolves in Hedmark and the neighboring forests in Sweden. Swedish trackers also had contact with these animals in the same period. Two of these wolves formed a pair in the winter of 1982/83, and in 1983 their first pups were born in Finnskogen close to the national border (the territory was on both sides of the border, but the den was found just on the Swedish side). This family in the Finnskogen area was the only group of wolves in Scandinavia during the 1980s. They produced litters most of the years in that decade. All of their dens were in Sweden. From 1991 more than one family group were documented/substantiated (2 packs), but the number of packs and individuals was still low during most of the 1990s. It was not before the winter of 1997/98 that the numbers had increased to 6 packs (6 occurrences of breeding in 1997 - one in Norway, 2 in the border area, and 3 in Sweden). So far this winter 10 groups have been tracked in Southern Scandinavia- 3 of them on the Norwegian side, 4 in the border area, and 3 in Sweden. The Scandinavian population numbers between 51 and 80 animals. Petter Wabakken and his team presented a status report on 3.January 2001. Later (17.1.2001) a new map was presented - This map with accompanying report may be found here: Notice the following text: Familjegrupp, foeryngring 2000: Family group, breeding 2000 Familjegrupp: Family group Sannolik familjegrupp: Probable family group Sannolikt revirmarkerande par: Probable territorial pair Moejligt revirmarkerande par: Possible territorial pair Ensam stationaer varg: single stationary wolf Thus, there are 10 family groups in Scandinavia at present - of which reproduction has been documented in 6 territories in 2000 (2 in Norway, one in the border area, and 3 in Sweden). In Sweden there are, possibly, another two family groups. In addition there are 3 pairs (probably territorial) - 2 in Norway and one in Sweden. There is, possibly, also another territorial pair in Sweden. Notice that in two of the flocks - the Grangaerde pack in Sweden and in the Koppang pack in Norway - alpha wolves/individuals were lost last year. In the Koppang pack only the alpha female is left in the territory since the alpha male was shot by the authorities´ hunters last August. For several months they claimed that the alpha wolf they killed was one of the packs cubs. Authorities In 1997 the Norwegian Parliament decided that the goal for carnivore management was reproduction and viable populations of all the large species of carnivores (brown bear, wolf, wolverine, and lynx) in Norway - i.e. living solely on Norwegian soil. Also, our Parliament (Stortinget) decided that the first goal was 8-10 family groups of wolves in Southern Scandinavia, some of which would range within Norway. In 1998 Norwegian environmental authorities signed an agreement to cooperate with Swedish authorities in connection with the management of wolves in Scandinavia. In Sweden new management goals were presented this month (January 2001). This time they were based on science. The first goal was an increase in the Swedish wolf population to 200 individuals, and later at least 500 for short-term survival (recommendations from genetic scientists). In Norway politicians believe that when 8-10 family groups (including at least 2 on the Norwegian side) have been established in Scandinavia the final goal has been reached! They seem to have forgotten the decision that was taken in the Norwegian Parliament in 1997, namely that the main goal was a viable wolf population in Norway, independent of the Swedish situation. This decision is also in accordance with the Bern Convention. Bare in mind that Norway was the initiator of this very convention! Winter 2000/2001 is the first time that more than 8-10 wolf packs have been documented in Scandinavia, because of this Norwegian authorities want to start hunting and killing them as soon as possible. The wolf zone Last autumn (2000) Norwegian authorities presented their draft for a wolf management zone in Norway. In the future wolves will not be allowed to establish pairs or packs outside of this zone. They are areas, which are, in varying densities, inhabited with domestic reindeer and sheep. The draft included an area from Co. Aust-Agder in the southwest (southernmost parts of Norway) covering most of SE-Norway to the Swedish border. Astonishingly, the northernmost zone border in the east only reached up to the Elverum area in Co. Hedmark. This means that the large areas in Co. Hedmark that are typical of what is suitable for the wolf's needs - with no or hardly any sheep, and with high densities of moose (elk - Alces alces) and other deer species - would be outside of the zone. In other words: the best areas for wolves in Norway will be without wolves in the future if this zoning scheme is implemented! On 17. January one of Norway's largest newspapers presented a map of what possibly will be the final configuration of this wolf zone. Not surprising the only area left of the zone is a narrow strip along the Swedish border. This zone will not allow for more than 5 wolf territories (one in Co. Oestfold and 4-5 in the border area - as in the present situation!) Last year Norwegian authorities (government) announced that if the snow tracking of wolves this winter resulted in the discovery of more than 8-10 family groups in Scandinavia, they would start hunting two of the Norwegian packs in order to exterminate them. The first two packs the authorities want to slaughter are the two northernmost groups in Co. Hedmark. They include at least 17 individuals. Their territories are in an area populated with sheep, not as many as we have in other parts in Norway, but enough to cause several problems with the farmers. These two territories are in the municipalities of Stor-Elvdal and Rendalen, where 2-3 percent of the man-labor years are sheep farming. Exterminating 2 out of only 3 Norwegian wolf packs (excluding the border areas) means that Norway wants to get rid of between 25 and 40 percent of the total wolf population in Scandinavia. Such a drastic and detrimental reduction is diametrically opposed to the recommendations of the advisory panel of Swedish and Norwegian scientists which concluded that a critical minimum of 500 wolves is needed for the short-term conservation of the Scandinavian wolf population. In addition this proposed eradication of two of the SCANDINAVIAN wolf packs is a decision taken SOLELY by Norwegian authorities. Swedish authorities have protested against these plans, and have expressed great concern over such a large number of wolves being removed from the endangered Scandinavian population. In other words, the Norwegian/Swedish cooperation on the management of wolves and the agreements from 1998 are not functioning in a constructive way. The hunt These parts of Co. Hedmark - in the valley of Oesterdalen - are the only areas in Europe where all four large carnivore species co-exist with their natural prey - moose (elk), red deer, roe deer, and wild reindeer. The final decision to kill the wolves has "not" been taken yet, but it is just a matter of days before the green light comes. The Norwegian government has set aside 240.000 US dollars for the planned hunt and intends to use helicopters, snow scooters and specially trained hunters to undertake it. Questions Nature conservationists all over the world - especially people who are interested in carnivores and wolves - have the possibility of sending in questions about the impending wolf hunt in Norway to the Norwegian Minister of the Environment, Siri Bjerke, at the following e-mail addresses: miljovernministeren@m... siri.bjerke@m... The postal address to the Norwegian Minister of the Environment is: Minister of the Environment Siri Bjerke Ministry of Environment Box 8013 Dep. N-0030 OSLO Norway Telephone: +47-22249090 -------------------------------------- Yours sincerely Viggo Ree information adviser The Norwegian Carnivore and Raptor Society E-mail: styret@f... Private address: Pamperudbakken N-3530 ROEYSE, Norway Telephone: +47-32157715 / +47-94412230 Telefax: +47-32157822 Protest against Norwegian slaughter of wolves: Or go to: ~*~*~*~ All articles, poems, etc are copyrighted by the writers of said items and are used with permission. They are not to be republished without the express permission of the writers except for personal use. Contact information may be obtained by contacting the editor of Whispers of A Stone Circle at Zeliziw@n... Sheila K Watkins Copyright (c) 2001 Sheila K. Watson. All Rights Reserved