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ARMENIA CULLS WOLVES AFTER COLD SNAP ATTACKS
Agence France Presse
France 24
Feb 16 2012
(AFP) YEREVAN - The authorities in Armenia on Thursday offered cash
rewards to hunters who kill wolves after increasing reports of attacks
on rural villages exacerbated by recent cold weather and heavy snow.
"Because of the heavy snowfall, wolves began to appear more frequently
in populated areas and it became necessary to deal with them,"
Armenian Environmental Protection Minister Aram Harutiunian told a
news conference.
The authorities will pay around $260 (200 euros) to hunters who
kill a wolf -- a significant amount in impoverished regions of the
ex-Soviet republic.
Harutiunian said that he envisaged a cull of around 200 wolves from
an estimated total population of between 500 and 700, which he said
would not threaten the animals with extinction in the country.
"We believe that this way we can ease the situation and it will not
affect the wolf population," he said.
But local environmentalists condemned the planned cull, saying that
deforestation and illegal hunting had reduced wolves' natural sources
of food in the wild, causing them to scavenge in populated areas.
"Instead of destroying wolves, it is better to stop the illegal
and uncontrolled hunting of wild animals," environmentalist Srbuhi
Harutiunian told AFP.
From: A. Papazian
Agence France Presse
France 24
Feb 16 2012
(AFP) YEREVAN - The authorities in Armenia on Thursday offered cash
rewards to hunters who kill wolves after increasing reports of attacks
on rural villages exacerbated by recent cold weather and heavy snow.
"Because of the heavy snowfall, wolves began to appear more frequently
in populated areas and it became necessary to deal with them,"
Armenian Environmental Protection Minister Aram Harutiunian told a
news conference.
The authorities will pay around $260 (200 euros) to hunters who
kill a wolf -- a significant amount in impoverished regions of the
ex-Soviet republic.
Harutiunian said that he envisaged a cull of around 200 wolves from
an estimated total population of between 500 and 700, which he said
would not threaten the animals with extinction in the country.
"We believe that this way we can ease the situation and it will not
affect the wolf population," he said.
But local environmentalists condemned the planned cull, saying that
deforestation and illegal hunting had reduced wolves' natural sources
of food in the wild, causing them to scavenge in populated areas.
"Instead of destroying wolves, it is better to stop the illegal
and uncontrolled hunting of wild animals," environmentalist Srbuhi
Harutiunian told AFP.
From: A. Papazian