Why we should not allow wolf hunting in Sweden Throughout the centuries the wolf has been seen as a dangerous predator and a pest for life-stock farmers. Today the attitude about wolves differs broadly in Sweden, and has been a popular topic of debate for years whether or not we should allow wolves in Swedish nature. In the following text I will attempt to provide a summary of the history of the Swedish wolf as well as to discuss the importance of not allowing wolf hunting, argue for the positive effect wolves could bring to the Swedish forest ecology, and provide facts to answer common misconceptions about wolves. The wolf has lived with alongside humans throughout history and as a result it has created a mistrust towards the animal. The mistrust of the wolf in Sweden can be traced back to the 13th century. During that age the wolf population was widely spread across the whole country. Region laws at that time implemented that every house was to have tools and weapons to hunt these predators, mainly to protect their life-stock. To encourage the hunting, game hunt bounties on wolves was introduced in 1647. This put a high hunting pressure on the wolf population throughout the coming centuries. During the 1950s the wolf´s demise was a fact. The population was estimated at around 20 animals, which led to the ban of wolf hunting in 1966.1The ban on wolf hunting was lifted in 2010 -2011. However, the decision conflicted with EU habitat directive and was shortly