Soomaa farmers struggle with wolf attacks and halted bear hunts

Livestock farmers in the Soomaa region have lost cattle to wolves and are struggling to protect animal feed from bears, ERR reported. Courts have suspended 26 of the 64 bear-hunting permits issued by the Environment Board.

Farmer Tiit Soa, who raises cattle in Soomaa, said he had lost 150 animals from his herd of 600 to wolves. He said attacks on this scale had not happened before and that even adult cattle had been killed. Soa estimates the financial losses at several hundred thousand euros.

To qualify for compensation, owners must use all available preventive measures. But Soa said the region’s sharply fluctuating water levels make it almost impossible to install electric fencing that meets requirements. He said wolves killed two calves on the very night a fence was put up. He now has to keep watch over the herd around the clock, sometimes setting off fireworks and driving around to deter the animals. The constant guard duty is beginning to affect his health.

The Climate Ministry says responsibility for protecting livestock rests primarily with owners. Aimar Rakko, who leads the hunting policy area in the ministry’s forestry department, said farmers should consider keeping animals elsewhere if they cannot be protected at a particular age.

By October 30, 151 cases of wolf damage had been registered in Estonia, according to the Environment Board. Nearly half of the livestock killed were in the Soomaa region. Tanel Türna, head of the board’s hunting and aquatic life department, suggested gathering calves together in the evenings. He acknowledged that this would be difficult, but said wolves would continue to come as long as they could find livestock to prey on.

Bears have also appeared in Soomaa this year, damaging silage bales stored for livestock. The Environment Board issued 64 permits to hunt bears, but a court suspended 26 of them following an initiative by the NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad. The latest suspensions came on October 23, within two hours.