"We regret that the court has given the green light to a hunt that violates both EU law and Swedish hunting legislation," says Beatrice Rindevall, chairwoman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, in a comment.
The association also announces that the decisions will be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Sundsvall.
153 lynx will be shot in this year's licensed hunt, a sharp increase from last year. There are approximately 1,400 lynx in Sweden, and although the population has increased slightly, the species is still classified as vulnerable.
More decisions await
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation appealed the lynx hunt in all affected counties, except in reindeer herding areas in Västerbotten, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The appeal covered licensed hunts of a total of 106 lynx.
"The lynx is a strictly protected species, and allowing more than one in ten animals to be shot risks threatening the long-term survival of the population," says Rindevall.
The court now announces that the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation's appeals regarding hunting in the following counties are rejected: Örebro, Stockholm, Västra Götaland, Uppsala and Kalmar.
The hunt involves a total of 40 lynx and more decisions are expected.
"In summary, the Administrative Court believes that the County Administrative Board has demonstrated that all requirements for licensed hunting are met," the court writes in its rulings.
Revoked hunting decision
At the same time, the hunting decision in Gävleborg County is being revoked. That hunt would have included 20 lynx. The administrative court in Luleå considers the hunt acceptable, but since a quota limiting the maximum proportion of females had not been introduced, the hunt is rejected.
"The case shall be referred back to the County Administrative Board for continued processing and a new decision, which shall include a limitation regarding the maximum proportion of females," the Administrative Court writes.
The licensed hunt is scheduled to begin on March 1.
In January, the Court of Appeal in Sundsvall put a stop to this year's wolf hunt after the hunt was appealed by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
The lynx is Europe's largest cat.
Lynx are at the top of the food chain and play an important role in ecosystems. They are skilled solitary hunters and can, for example, regulate the number of roe deer and fallow deer, while also helping species such as wolverines and golden eagles by leaving food scraps behind.
There are around 1,400 lynx in Sweden, according to the latest estimate, and the species is found across virtually the entire country.
The lynx is protected and classified as "vulnerable" on the Swedish Species Information Bank's red list, and has strict protection under the EU's nature conservation directive.
In addition to legal and suspected illegal hunting, road traffic and fox mange are significant causes of death.
The lynx hunt runs from March 1 to March 31 in southern and central Sweden and until April 15 in the north. In this year's licensed hunt, the county administrative boards have decided to kill a total of 153 lynx in the country.
Source: WWF
