Finland begins controversial wolf hunt

Finland on Saturday began a controversial wolf cull that gives hunters the right to kill around one fifth of the endangered animals, in a decision that has angered environmentalists.

Authorities hope the trial cull of 46 of Finland's estimated 250 grey wolves will curb illegal poaching, which some rural landowners have resorted to in recent years after seeing wolves roaming their property, sometimes killing dogs and livestock.

"We wish to gain experience (to see) if this could be one solution to the conflict around wolves," Sauli Harkonen, a director tasked with hunting administration at the Finnish Wildlife Agency, told AFP.

Quotas have been issued for specific regions, and the month-long cull will be carried out by licensed hunters. 

Harkonen said the first wolf, a male, was killed in the country's east on Saturday.

Finland launched the first part of a two-year trial in 2015 in a bid to address the deep rift between animal rights activists and those who want to see wolf numbers cut.

Hunters were given permission to take out 24 wolves last year, though only 17 were killed.

That was the first time culls had been authorised since 2007, after the European Commission accused Finland of breaching EU protection rules on the endangered species.

The conflict peaked in 2013 when a group of angry locals in the rural western municipality of Perho took the law into their own hands and killed three wolves. Twelve men were prosecuted and eventually found guilty. 

Poachers throughout the country's vast and remote forests reduced the total wolf population to between 120 and 135 animals in 2013, but numbers have since rebounded to around 250, similar to 2007 levels. 

"The cull reduces the population but the wolf is a prolific species... Wolves have spread out to new and even somewhat populous areas," Harkonen said. 

Some Finns house a deep-rooted aversion and fear of the animal, dating back to the 19th century, when tales of wolves eating children were rife and rewards were paid to anyone who killed a wolf.