A lynx is on display in the foyer of Bygland municipality’s municipal building. Forestry manager Inge Olav Fjalestad is responsible for wildlife in the municipality. He is the one who writes the municipality’s advice on lynx hunting. In the input to the management plan, Fjalestad believes that free hunting of lynx in the municipality should be allowed. The fact that he, as a case manager, is himself a keen lynx hunter does not appear anywhere in the municipal papers. – Do you see it as problematic that you both have a municipal role and are a lynx hunter at the same time? – No, I really don’t. It is not the municipality that manages the management of the lynx population. It is the Wildlife Board and the State Administrator’s Board. – But do you think that people can raise questions about you both privately hunting lynx and at the same time managing the lynx under the authority of the municipality? – No, I haven’t had the impression of that, replies Inge Olav Fjalestad. This letter is signed Inge Olav Fjalestad. Here he writes that “Allocating a free quota for lynx is essential for us to keep the population of lynx at an acceptable level that the sheep industry can live with.” Photo: news No requirements for registration The municipal coat of arms in Bygland leaves no doubt about the village’s distinguishing mark. On a green ground a springing lynx in gold. These days the lynx hunt is underway. This year, it is legal to shoot 51 lynxes in Norway. But the hunt is surrounded by secrecy. In the forested mountainsides, local lynx hunters operate almost like a closed brotherhood. There are no requirements for registration of the hunters. – The only thing you must have is the landowner’s permission to hunt. Hunters are only obliged to call a special hunting telephone within 30 minutes after a lynx has been shot, explains game manager Per Ketil Omholt at the State Administrator in Agder. The lynx is red-listed in Norway. This year, permission has been granted to shoot 51 lynxes. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB The lynx is red-listed The lynx is red-listed as a highly endangered species, according to Rovdata. As the only one of our predators, lynxes are killed through ordinary hunting. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, wolverines, bears, golden eagles and wolves have stricter protection than lynxes. Game boards determine hunting quotas from year to year. Last year, 343 lynxes were estimated nationwide. If more than 30 adult female lynxes are shot during the hunt this year, the population will very likely end up below the national target for the number of lynxes in Norway next year, the Norwegian Environment Agency believes. No documented sheep killed In Bygland in Setesdal, lynxes have been shot over many years. Last year, the hunting team killed three lynxes in the municipality. Landowners who allow lynx hunting are usually sheep farmers. Last year, no sheep were killed by lynx in Bygland. Nor in Agder county. – That’s right, confirms game manager Inge Olav Fjalestad in Bygland municipality. – But why should lynx be hunted this year in Bygland? – There is a desire that new lynxes that breed in the area should not be drawn in. The fact that we felled three lynxes last year means that we do not have such large sheep losses, Fjalestad believes. Municipal director: – Thinks he is competent Bygland mayor Sigbjørn Åge Fossdal (Ap) says he had not thought about the competence of the forestry manager before news made contact. – It is a problem that occasionally arises when we have small relationships between administration and practice, he says. – But here I assume that the director of the municipality has made an assessment and that the competence is in order, he says. Municipal director John Salve Sigridnes in Bykle replies: – This is a hearing input where a decision is made two levels above the case manager. I think he is competent and does not see it as a problem in this case that he is a lynx hunter himself. – We are a small municipality and will always attend competency assessments. We look at this against the Administration Act, where, for example, financial gain is one criterion. In this case, that is not the case, he says. Bygland municipality has a lynx in its municipal coat of arms. Photo: Leif Dalen / news – Lynx is not so popular in some environments Lynx lives in wooded, hilly landscapes with steep slopes that stretch up towards the high mountains. On its website, Bygland municipality itself explains that it believes the lynx symbolizes the “gateway” between a purely agricultural and forestry landscape in the lowlands to a “wilder” and more mountainous landscape. The lynx is extremely shy and good at hiding. Local hunters do not want any attention about lynx hunting. – Trapping lynx is not so popular in certain environments. The hunters want to avoid burdens afterwards. That’s why I think they are restrictive in talking so much about hunting, says game manager Per Ketil Omholt at the State Administrator in Agder. Hunters do not want to talk In Bygland, no one in the hunting team wants to meet news. We have been in contact with several lynx hunters, but all of them refuse to be interviewed. The municipal game manager is thus himself a member of the hunting team. – It is those who sit in the hunting team who have to decide what they want to express themselves about. – But would you, as a municipal employee, have seen them do it? – I will not comment on that. I have no comment on that, says wildlife officer Inge Olav Fjalestad in Bygland municipality. Silent hunters in Bygland have not shot any lynx in the municipality so far this year. 65 lynx families is the target in Norway. Before this year’s hunt, 63 family groups are estimated nationwide.
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The municipal council in Bygland wants free lynx hunting
