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170 WOLVES KILLED IN 3 MONTHS: OFFICIALS CLAIM THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE
Mаry Mamyan
hetq
13:04, March 22, 2012
170 wolves have been shot and killed by hunters in Armenia so far
this year under a government plan that places a 100,000 AMD bounty
on each hide.
The government, citing dangers to livestock and rural residents,
has given the green light for 200 wolves to be killed in 2012.
Ashot Avalyan, Deputy Chief of Staff at the RA Ministry of Nature
Protection, serves as the committee president tasked with collecting
the hides.
He said that most of the 170 wolves have been killed in the regions
of Vayots Dzor, Aragatzotn and the Ararat plain.
Avalyan confessed that some of the hides were not from wolves and
were rejected.
Committee member Aram Aghavasyan, Chief of the Ministry's Division of
Specially Protected Areas, argued that often times hunters confuse
wolves with other animals, especially dogs, and that such mistakes
aren't intentional.
Hunters will receive payment at their local post office once their
wolf hides are accepted and the paperwork processed.
Aghavasyan noted that such a wolf extermination program was carried
out during the Soviet period with success.
The official stated that those villagers whose livelihood has suffered
due to wolf attacks are adequately compensated.
He claimed that only wolves that approach villages and livestock
are killed. The official didn't explain how this claim could be
substantiated.
Committee members were adamant - there is no other method to combat
the wolf problem other than killing them. They also considered that
it might be possible to export the animals to those countries with
a demand.
Silva Adamyan, who works at the Zoological Institute and serves as
coordinator for the EcoAlliance NGO, said that such a program was
barbaric and that there are other measures to keep wolves from rural
settlements.
She argued that it is the loss of habitat that forces wolves and
other predators to approach villages and farms.
Adamyan said livestock herds can be better protected through the
installation of fences and even low voltage wires.
She urged the government to look to the methods effectively employed
in other countries rather than blindly killing wolves.
Adamyan argued that the government should be sending its specialists
overseas for training and education, rather than funding the hunting
of wolves.
Artur Gevorgyan, Deputy Chief of the Nature Protection Inspectorate,
said they were taking all precautions to see that other animals are
harmed during the hunt, and that traps and poison are prohibited.
Those found to have employed such measures are fined 150,000 AMD,
he said.
Silva Adamyan said that while there is no overall estimate of the
wolf population in Armenia, it is considered to be around 700.
She urged the government to allocate some of its funds to the
Zoological Institute in order to conduct a wolf research program.
Killing wolves won't solve the problem, Adamyan concluded, a better
understanding of the problem will.
Mаry Mamyan
hetq
13:04, March 22, 2012
170 wolves have been shot and killed by hunters in Armenia so far
this year under a government plan that places a 100,000 AMD bounty
on each hide.
The government, citing dangers to livestock and rural residents,
has given the green light for 200 wolves to be killed in 2012.
Ashot Avalyan, Deputy Chief of Staff at the RA Ministry of Nature
Protection, serves as the committee president tasked with collecting
the hides.
He said that most of the 170 wolves have been killed in the regions
of Vayots Dzor, Aragatzotn and the Ararat plain.
Avalyan confessed that some of the hides were not from wolves and
were rejected.
Committee member Aram Aghavasyan, Chief of the Ministry's Division of
Specially Protected Areas, argued that often times hunters confuse
wolves with other animals, especially dogs, and that such mistakes
aren't intentional.
Hunters will receive payment at their local post office once their
wolf hides are accepted and the paperwork processed.
Aghavasyan noted that such a wolf extermination program was carried
out during the Soviet period with success.
The official stated that those villagers whose livelihood has suffered
due to wolf attacks are adequately compensated.
He claimed that only wolves that approach villages and livestock
are killed. The official didn't explain how this claim could be
substantiated.
Committee members were adamant - there is no other method to combat
the wolf problem other than killing them. They also considered that
it might be possible to export the animals to those countries with
a demand.
Silva Adamyan, who works at the Zoological Institute and serves as
coordinator for the EcoAlliance NGO, said that such a program was
barbaric and that there are other measures to keep wolves from rural
settlements.
She argued that it is the loss of habitat that forces wolves and
other predators to approach villages and farms.
Adamyan said livestock herds can be better protected through the
installation of fences and even low voltage wires.
She urged the government to look to the methods effectively employed
in other countries rather than blindly killing wolves.
Adamyan argued that the government should be sending its specialists
overseas for training and education, rather than funding the hunting
of wolves.
Artur Gevorgyan, Deputy Chief of the Nature Protection Inspectorate,
said they were taking all precautions to see that other animals are
harmed during the hunt, and that traps and poison are prohibited.
Those found to have employed such measures are fined 150,000 AMD,
he said.
Silva Adamyan said that while there is no overall estimate of the
wolf population in Armenia, it is considered to be around 700.
She urged the government to allocate some of its funds to the
Zoological Institute in order to conduct a wolf research program.
Killing wolves won't solve the problem, Adamyan concluded, a better
understanding of the problem will.