On December 23, we published an alert urging Norway's Ministry of Climate and the Environment and Environment Agency to cancel the country’s planned annual wolf hunt, which would certainly have brought this critically endangered species much closer to extinction. In some good news, Norway’s Oslo District Court has temporarily stopped the hunt within the wolf zone — but we need to keep the pressure on!

As Norway envisioned it, the hunt was scheduled to kill up to half of the country’s wolf population, which is already critically endangered with less than 100 remaining. 20 years ago, wolves roamed 50% of Norway. Today, they are restricted to a mere 5%. In such conditions they are already fighting for their survival, the last thing they need is a mass slaughter event. 

This plan is not only incredibly cruel, it threatens the extinction of the species. It would also be a disaster for Norway’s natural ecosystems. Wolves are a keystone species, crucial to maintaining the countless other animals and plants. Should Norway exterminate its wolves, it is impossible to predict what environmental fallout will follow. The only thing that is certain is that other animals, and entire ecosystems, would suffer. 

To stress, this injunction against the wolf hunt is only temporary. In fact, the court has explicitly said it does not believe the previous decision to kill the wolves was invalid, just that it did not have enough time to properly review that decision. Further oral hearings will be taking place early this year, with the goal of resuming the hunt well before the season ends in February. 

The court, it seems, is the last remaining hope for Norway’s wolves. Let us hope the court is able to look beyond mere politics and actually form a decision based on what is right and just. 

People are the threat to Norway’s few remaining wolves, not the other way around. Please speak out for Norway’s wolves by signing and sharing our alert.