'Moose, roe deer must be culled'

2005-12-02 10:06

Stockholm - Sweden's moose and roe deer populations should be halved to reduce costs linked to road accidents and damage to growing forest due to the animals, the Swedish Forest Administration said on Thursday.

Annual costs were estimated at 2 billion kronor (about R1.59m), of which deaths and injuries sustained in road accidents accounted for two thirds of the cost, the Forest Administration said in a new report.

"Current game levels are a massive waste of resources," said Tomas Thuresson, head of silviculture at the Forest Administration, adding some three to five lives claimed by road accidents would likely be saved each year.

The agency said it lacked detailed information about the exact numbers of moose and roe deer in the country of nine million inhabitants.

Some estimates put the moose population at some 200 000 animals.

The agency said the moose and roe deer populations were an important part of Swedish nature, and hunting is a major recreational pastime, but the current levels of moose and roe deer also threaten biological diversity.

Several species of broad-leaf trees are disappearing while pine trees are being replaced by spruce due to the foraging animals, the agency's report said.

The current levels of roe deer and moose generate about 2 billion kronor annually, but halving the populations would still meet recreational requirements and generate a surplus of 500 million kronor (about R396.8m) a year, the agency said. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA