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Sweden: 622 Bears will be killed in trophy hunting



Unmasking the myth of a civilized country. Cruelty to animals prevails in Sweden.

by Eva Stjernswärd, artist painter and hunting critic
Image: Abraham Hondius, Chasse à l’ours (1683)/Wikimedia commons


Sweden is selling out strictly protected animals like brown bears, lynxes and wolves to brutal trophy hunting. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) give permission to the County Administrative Boards to decide the hunting quota each year. Hunting activists in the Swedish Hunting Association and in the reindeer industry succeed every year lobbying for an increased elimination of endangered predators. Trophy hunting is an act of sanctioned animal cruelty and appeals for protection are constantly denied.
This year’s massacre of 622 bears started 21st of August.  

Sentient beings do suffer  
In 1789: the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham challenged “The question is not Can they reason, nor Can they speak – the question that must be asked is: Can they suffer?”

Barbaric hunting methods, illustrated in baroque art three hundred years ago, correspond to the way predator hunting prevail in Sweden. Today’s hunters subject their dogs as well as the bears to violence. Bears, over-sensitive to heat and stress, are hunted with aggressive hounds from dawn to dusk, during two months, in seven counties. This occurs during the critical period of vital feeding (hyperphagia) for bears to accumulate enough fat to survive the long Scandinavian hibernation of 5-7 months. The stress to find energy food is even greater for

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female bears, as they must give birth to the new generation during hibernation and feed their young with high-fat milk.  

Anti-predator rhetoric. The seven northern County Administrative Boards motivates licensed trophy hunting as a remedy to; “alleviate people’s fear of predators”, “reduce illegal hunting and increase confidence in the local management of predators”.  
As illogical as if legalized prostitution would lessen men’s violence against women.

Omen of chaos and death. Hunting inflicts extreme stress, causes PTSD, disrupts feeding, mating and hibernation. This year nearly 25 percent of the bear population of Sweden’s 2900 individuals will be slaughtered and last year more than 500.
What are the psychological, ecological, biological and demographic consequences of such extreme hunting in times of climate change, wild fires, seasonal timing shifts, habitat loss and pollution? This day and age - what does it say about Swedish moral and ethic?  

Sweden entertains a new warrior class. A country that increase animal factory farming, keep up mink farming and supports gamifying violence against wild animals in hunting, is not the model state for animal welfare that some Swedish politicians falsely asserts before the European Union. Wild animals are not protected by the Animal welfare law. Hunting regulations protect hunter’s interests, as to normalize the violence against wild animals; hunting as leisure and sport, population control and wildlife management. This agenda has created a new warrior class: extreme predator hunters with fighting dogs.  
Illegal hunting with sadistic methods is common, but Swedish hunt managers never take into consideration how legal hunting in tandem with poaching afflict animals. In practice, Swedish hunting regulations sanctions legal killing of wild animals basically every day of the year. Day and night depending on the species. Wild animals are forced to live in constant fear of human predators and hunting dogs. Hunters can even train their dogs on live animals. The Hunting Association proudly commercialize Sweden as “the most hunting liberal country” to attract additional 30 000 foreign hunters every year to plunder Nature of her peaceful inhabitants.

The unbearable lightness of killing wild animals for pleasure and sport is a murderous business in Sweden. Semi-automatic weapons and silencers, GPS device and cameras on the dogs, all for a subculture of trophy hunting warlords to develop within the traditional Swedish hunting. Privat events with celebrities test shooting on live animals, are sponsored by exclusive brands from the weapon industry. Commercialized hunting is the obscene business entertained by both private and stately landowners.

Swedish wildlife management is the human-induced Ecology of Fear. The “misogynistic” practice of hunting females and their young or killing young in front of their mothers is a common hunter practice for all sorts of wild species. It is even recommended in protective hunting of lynxes and bears, “to shoot the young before the mother”, by the County Administrative Boards. Against all ethics, the trophy hunt for lynx is shamelessly scheduled during their mating period. Also wolves, foxes, badgers and wolverines and their cubs are persecuted and killed in their dens or resting places. Technically also pregnant females can be killed as hunting seasons have been largely extended. Trapping, snaring and baiting are medieval methods used in “civilized” Sweden as well as attractants to lure animals into death traps or ambush gunning. Animal families are destroyed, their young are abandoned or orphaned, bears and all other animals often suffer painful deaths. None can defend themselves from today’s war on wildlife.


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Collateral damage to bears, even if not killed, is openly ignored. Maiming and injuring animals during hunting is belittled and killing bear cubs or yearlings “by mistake” is common. Hunters are never punished: the hunter that injured and shot a bear in the mouth 2020, could boast of finishing off the same bear in 2021.  
Professor Birger Schantz, former veterinary surgeon and expert in studying gun wounds for twenty years, explained: “Nobody can say that a shot animal does not suffer. What we do know is that the nerve system that register pain looks the same in all mammals. A good rule (for understanding) is that what you think hurts on you, also hurts on an animal.”

A mother bear was killed when protecting her cubs from a hunting dog. The moose hunter claimed defense of the dog he had let loose, knowing it was a bears habitat. The cubs hiding up in a tree, as they are taught by their mother, likely starved to death as cubs depend on their mother for at least two years. No legal policy exist to rescue wild animals.

Hunting poison the Circle of Life. An environmental scandal, is the use of 600-700 tons of lead every year for hunting ammunition. Wounded animals and birds from gun shots continue led poisoned but die out of sight: more than sixty percent of wild geese live with led pellets in their bodies and so do many wolves, lynxes and foxes. Hunters are leaving butchery and carcasses everywhere and poisoned birds and scavengers have long been silent victims of this abuse. Birds also mistake lead pellets for grains around feeding places where animals are lured to be shot, often close to or on agricultural soil. The ecological hypocrisy of landowners selling hunt leases.  
Now lead is also found in the blood and milk of Swedish brown bears: ten times higher than the EU threshold value for damage on the human nerve system. The bear cubs are contaminated from birth in their den. This is not mentioned when issuing hunt permits, on the contrary, consumption and commercialization of bear meat and trophies is encouraged by the County Administrative Boards, that also have been caught creating illicit slaughtering sites, violating CITES-rules, to facilitate for hunters to take the trophies in situ.    

Tyranny of the hunting minority (<3% of population). The strategy of institutions that enables wildlife exploitation, the EPA and the County Administrative Boards, is to employ hunters. Hunting has corrupted Swedish wildlife management and politicians to such an extent that the purpose of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the EU species and habitat directive are regularly violated. Sweden blatantly abuses these stringent protection laws by adjusting its own national loopholes and unrestrainedly interpreting the limited hunting exemptions to sustain the trophy hunting industry. Interestingly, the Court of administrative law, for appeals concerning protected predators (Luleå), is geographically placed in the region that houses the highest number of hunters per inhabitant. Could this affect the jurymen?  

A Swedish disgrace. The County Administrative Boards have increased protective hunting each year since 2010. The reindeer industry wins over bears, wolves, lynxes and wolverines as they can be gunned down legally from helicopters and chased with snowmobiles, accused of disturbing reindeer husbandry. In spite of the industry being generously compensated by the state for any loss of reindeers. The hatred of predators in these regions is irreconcilable. A village recently proposed bounty money for killing them.  
In 2017 as many as 71 bears were killed in few spring months. The five tons of bear carcasses where burned and destroyed to the greedy annoyance of hunters. Animals killed in protective hunting could not be kept as trophies before. Reminding corruption, the EPA recently sneaked through a new pro-hunter instruction to please hunters in the North – now they can keep trophies and even take on “hunting guests” for the helihunting.
 

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Rotten Santa reside in Sweden. Swedish reindeer meat products from across Lapland have EU’s Protected Designation of Origin status (PDO) and function as a marketing coup for the reindeer meat industry to reach the global food market.
Can export of gourmet food to Europe be considered “environmental friendly” if the value include the killing of protected bears, lynxes, wolves and wolverines? Are the unethical and gruesome handling and slaughter methods of the reindeers not known as are the horrors behind French luxury food foie gras?
Nothing seem to have changed in spite of the investigation and undercover journey to Sweden by British journalist Rich Hardy. In his book “Not As Nature intended”, the chapter “Last Christmas” describe the methods of handling, transporting and killing reindeer. A scary nightmare far from the nomadic sami culture that once existed. Hardy writes “…the tens of thousands of reindeer are herded (with helicopters and snowmobiles) and trucked to commercial slaughterhouses to meet a demise that is anything but traditional.”

What if our children would understand the bloody nightmare of real Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – and for all the “Teddy-Bears” killed in this instant all over Sweden?

The intricate Web of Life has never been more fragile. The decline of wildlife worldwide and above all - the suffering caused by humans to non-human animals every second - how can nations like Sweden pretend to be civilized when nurturing a shady business like trophy hunting? How can Sweden trivialize cruel hunting for self-gratification, when this clearly exposes a sadistic side of man against the innocent. Hunting is about cruelty and killing for fun is an addiction.  

Barbarians in Sweden exposed.
“The time will come when the mere pleasure of killing will die out in man. As long as it is there, man has no claim to call himself civilized, he is a mere barbarian.” (Swedish writer Axel Munthe, 1929) Citations from journalist Eduardo Gonçalves book Trophy Hunters exposed: “It is time for a new contract with nature. Society has banned many forms of animal cruelty and blood-sports such as bear baiting and dogfighting. However trophy hunting has so far escaped. The unbridled human supremacy within the natural world must be discarded, for all our sakes”.  

There it is! The great Counter Force of Protectors, on the rise thanks to intelligent and compassionate journalists, scientists, writers, activists and hard working animal defenders together with all humans who understand that we share the fear of pain and the fear of death with all beings. 

  4 years ago
Know About Wildlife - Animals From "A" to "Z"

Hey Mojo kids! Ready for an exciting adventure by going on a safari to see the most extraordinary animals living in the wild? Then order the amazing children's book "Know About Wildlife - Animals From A to Z" coming soon to Amazon! Once you embark on this great adventure, you will not want to stop until you have seen every single Animal from "A" to "Z" to learn more about the amazing creatures we share our world with!

Mojo Parents and Grandparents, reading this book with your children or grandchildren will be a great opportunity to not only bond and spend quality time with them, but it will teach them, and spark their curiosity, about all of the unique and interesting animals living in the wild. As future custodians of our planet, they will have a greater understanding and appreciation for these animals and they will be more inclined to preserve and to protect these wonderful creatures!

Please note that the author, Munir Noorbhai, will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each and every book to help our team at MojoStreaming with our wildlife awareness and advocacy efforts! Please support our efforts by getting this book, which is now available for pre-order, by clicking the link below!

Know About Wildlife - Animals From "A" to "Z"

Thanks!

The Mojo Team!

  1 year ago
Kobus kob thomasi

The Ugandan kob (Kobus kob thomasi), male,Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda, 2016.

The Ugandan kob is a subspecies of the kob, a type of antelope. Only the males have horns, which are lyre-shaped, strongly ridged and divergent.

Males are slightly larger than females, being 90 to 100 cm (3.0 to 3.3 ft) at the shoulder, with an average weight of 94 kg (207 lb), while females are 82 to 92 cm (2.7 to 3.0 ft) at the shoulder and on average weigh about 63 kg (139 lb). Apart from the throat patch, muzzle, eye-ring and inner ear, which are white, the coat is golden to reddish-brown, the color differentiating it from other kob subspecies. The belly and inside of the legs are white, and the front of the forelegs are black.

It is typically found in open or wooded savanna, within a reasonable distance of water, and it also occurs in grasslands near rivers and lakes.

Ugandan kobs are herbivores and feed largely on grasses and reeds.

The females and young males form loose groups of varying size which range according to food availability, often moving along watercourses and grazing in valley bottoms. Sometimes non-breeding males form their own groups. Ugandan kobs usually have a lek mating system, in which males defend small territories clustered on traditional mating grounds. Females visit these leks only to breed, and males provide no parental care. Each lek is associated with a female herd of about 100 individuals. Females begin to mate at the age of one, but males must normally wait for several more years. A single calf is born in November or December, after a gestation period of about nine months.

Ugandan kob appears on the coat of arms of Uganda. #Godfreytheguide #Uganda #Animals #Antelope.

www.interiorsafarisea.com

  4 years ago
Chake Conservancy Masai Mara - Mr Charles Kinara

Chake Conservancy Masai Mara is proud to announce our Founder has been awarded his Honorary Warden status by the Cabinet Secretary of The Ministry of Environment Kenya. For the Greater Rift Valley...
This has come after many years of hard work and of course like everything is without remuneration. It is a long process to get awarded this and we are extremely Proud of you Our Founder and Father of Chake!
For those of you new to Conservancy Laws this is just shortened lists of some of the responsibilities which you are now able to be Lawfully Acting on....
For one to be considered for appointment as an Honorary Warden,
Must be resident within the Conservation Area in which they
are applying for Honorary Wardenship;
May have served or be serving in any capacity in a conservation
related organization;
Must be active in conservation initiatives within their area;
Must demonstrate the nature of assistance they shall give in carrying into effect the provisions of the Act.Honorary Wardens shall have countrywide deployment. Without prejudice to the generality of the forgoing, Honorary Wardens shall be appointed to carry out functions within the following areas of specialization –
Community wildlife service
Tourism;
Security
Problem animal management;
Resource mobilization;
Research;
Veterinary services;
Ornithology;
Education;
Piloting
Fundraising for wildlife conservation;
Fire management in protected areas;
Giving advice on policy formulation;
Wildlife translocation;
Wildlife census;
Species and ecosystem monitoring
Wildlife utilization management;
Wildlife veterinary practice;
Attending meetings, conferences, workshops and Report any criminal activity to the local Warden;
In the absence of any member of the Service on the ground,
take immediate action in case of any emergency;
Deliver any trophies recovered to the local Warden
Use a firearm for problem animal management
Notwithstanding the provisions of Clause 31(1) above, an
Honorary Warden may use his firearm for protection of human life and property under Section 30 and 31 of the Act without being
accompanied by members of the Service, where there is immediate
danger........
Asante Sana, Dankie, Thank you to all members for your continued support and donations!
Chake wishes you love, peace and health and happiness and hope to welcome you to Kenya soon!
Donate direct towards Tree planting and Animal and Community Protection and Snare removal
see our website for more about each of us.

https://chakeconservancy.org

  5 years ago
The Case Against Trophy Hunting

The case against trophy hunting

1)Trophy hunting defies all logic.

It’s a bizarre notion to shoot something you are trying to protect in the first place. Let’s take the example of wolves, which faced extinction not so long ago. Spending decades bringing them back from extinction makes no sense, only to begin killing them again.

2)Trophy hunting is unethical.

Most importantly, the practice is entirely unethical. It causes suffering to the hunted animal. Indeed this suffering exceeds much more in magnitude than the pleasure it gives the hunter! Mankind is supposed to be the protector and guardian of the planet and its inhabitants. Instead, post-industrial age, humans have treated our animals and our forests like expendable resources and garbage exclusively for their own selfish use and with complete disregard for everything else. The caveman of thousands of years ago had far more respect for our animals and forests and only killed to survive. Animal populations are collapsing and, inevitably, so will our civilization.

3)Trophy hunting does more harm to the very species it is supposed to protect

Trophy hunters make unsubstantiated claims that a small amount of controlled trophy hunting does not harm populations. However, this is not true. Trophy hunting can backfire and hurt the overall population of a species. Let’s take the example of lions. For trophy hunters, shooting the biggest and strongest adult male lion is the most desirable type of hunt by wealthy foreign hunters. However, it is a well-known fact that an adult male is the protector of his pride, protecting the females and other male offspring. If it gets killed, other male lions will attack and kill weaker lions in the pride to take over the leaderless pride, thus further reducing the numbers to the further detriment of the species. There are countless real-life examples of this phenomenon.

4)Does money from Trophy hunting help conservation?

There is no real proof that money raised by trophy hunting helps a species or local communities. I believe it is a misconception that revenues from trophy hunting help with conservation. This is what so-called” conservationists” would conveniently like the world to believe. On a broad scale, corrupt government officials, middlemen travel companies, and sports outfitters organizing the trophy hunt end up with the lion's share of the proceeds, and perhaps only a trickle goes to conservation and rural communities. I think the notion that trophy hunting helps conservation is like putting lipstick on a pig in a false attempt to hide its ugliness. The notion that Trophy hunting helps to protect the species is simply a guise to justify this gruesome practice. In all reality, it is simply providing a thrill to wealthy people who get a kick out of killing an endangered animal. True conservation activities should sustainably involve local communities, not benefit organizers, middlemen, and corrupt officials.

5)Trophy hunting undermines efforts to curb poaching.

What kind of mixed message are we sending poachers? It’s a double standard to come down hard on poachers who are simply trying to feed their families but greenlight wealthy thrill-seeking foreigners to hunt and kill animals. Poaching and trophy hunting is disgusting practices from a wildlife standpoint, especially for endangered species, which seem to attract an unusually large number of trophy hunters to hunt and kill these animals.

6)Trophy hunting is a lucrative big business making the case for even more trophy hunting

Because trophy hunting has become a big business, getting carried away and increasing quotas for the number of animals to hunt is easy. Corrupt politicians and organizers will find a way to make trophy hunting more lucrative for themselves at the detriment of the species.

7)Trophy hunting impairs genetic selection

As noted earlier, the most prized trophy hunts by wealthy foreigners granting them the most significant bragging and boasting rights are to take down the strongest males by targeting, for example, the ones with the most prominent horns of the most prominent tusks. This leaves only the less fit males in the population. Effectively, trophy hunting is weakening the DNA of a species over time.

Interestingly, even the original first nations inhabitants respected the leader of a pack, the strongest of the bunch. They would hunt the weaker animals for survival. Our modern civilization does not understand the importance of this simple but essential concept of genetic selection for the ongoing survival of a species.

8)Trophy hunting supports other harmful industries

Trophy hunting supports other industries that are detrimental to society by enabling weapons companies to make even more guns and fossil fuel companies provide dirty fuel for the long flights to take foreign trophy hunters to far away remote places to commit their heinous crimes against a harmless species already facing extinction.

These are just some of the reasons why trophy hunting should be banned entirely. So many humane ways can help protect a species facing extinction. Simple eco-tourism comes to

mind, where wealthy folks can take their families on safaris to see these animals in the natural setting. Shoot animals with your cameras, not rifles!

The extinction of a species is a global problem, not a local one. Imagine if every government across the globe donated a tiny tine minute fractional percentage of their tax revenues towards ending the extinction of species globally. This would make many resources available for conservation efforts to preserve a species. Far more than resorting to killing more of the same species!

I challenge anyone to argue otherwise and, more importantly, provide concrete evidence and data, to disprove my rationale for ending this cruel and inhumane practice of trophy hunting!

Munir Noorbhai

(Private citizen who wants to do right by animals before it is too late!)

Visit the discussion on Trophy Hunting:  https://www.mojostreaming.com/video/685/trophy-hunting-debate-episode-1


  4 years ago