Norwegian hunters spent a fruitless first day tracking nine wolves on Saturday as dozens of environmentalists camped out in snow-covered forests to try to stop the planned cull. Norway, blaming the wolves for killing sheep, is breaking with a policy since the mid-1990s of encouraging the predators to return to their former habitat in south Scandinavia.
Environmentalists denounce the cull as a significant step back.
The hunting permit will last until April 6. He said forecast snow in coming days would slow the wolves and help trackers. Norway's government says there are about 12 wolf packs in south Scandinavia, or about 120 wolves, above a minimum goal of eight to 10 packs set in the late 1990s. And it says stocks are rising 30 percent a year. Mikalsen said there were no conflicts with environmentalists, dozens of whom camped out or took ski trips in the forests.