Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

ENVIRONMENT

Two wolves killed by traffic in rural Denmark

Two wolves have recently been killed by traffic in central Jutland, the Danish Natural History Museum and the University of Copenhagen have confirmed.

Published: 12 March 2024 15:08 CET

Two wolves killed by traffic in rural Denmark

An illustration photo showing wolves at Copenhagen Zoo. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

One of the wolves was found on the edge of a main road connecting Billund and Vejle. The other was near the Herning-Vejle motorway close to the town of Brande.

“These were two health, handsome and well-nourished animals on good condition which were killed immediately by being hit by a vehicle,” veterinary pathologist Tim Kåre Jensen said in a statement.

Neither of the animals showed signs of disease, Jensen also said.

Wolves returned to wild areas in Denmark in the early 2010s after being absent from the Scandinavian country for well over a century.

In 2023, around 29 wild wolves were estimated to be living in Denmark, with the number thought to be growing. At the end of February this year, the estimate had risen to 37-42 wolves.

A guide was last year produced by Aarhus University’s Danish Centre for Environment and Energy outlining how to act responsibly when encountering a wolf in the wild.

READ ALSO: What do you do if you spot a wolf in the wild in Denmark?

One of the two killed wolves is thought to be a young female from the 2023 litter, senior researcher Kent Olsen of the Natural History Museum at Aarhus University told news wire Ritzau.

“The cubs often leave their parents in February and March when they are just under a year old, and I would think that this female is from one of the wolf litters that were born last year,” he said.

DNA testing will clarify the origins of the wolves and results are expected in around six weeks.

Wolves have been killed on Danish roads twice before in recent years.

In December 2022, a wolf was killed in a main road in the Esbjerg area, while another wolf suffered the same fate in North Jutland in November 2023.

Both of those wolves are now part of scientific collections at the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen. The two recently killed by traffic will also be transferred to this collection, Ritzau writes.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Danish government to ban import of clothes containing 'forever chemical' PFAS

The decision to cut out PFAS in imported and Danish clothing products was announced by the Ministry of Environment in a statement.

“A national ban on the import and sale of clothes, shoes and waterproofing agents with PFAS is an important step on the way to limiting its emissions and will have a genuine environmental effect in Denmark,” Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said in the statement.

READ ALSO: Danish government criticised for failure to reduce PFAS contamination

Clothing, shoes and waterproofing agents are among the largest sources of PFAS in Denmark’s environment, according to the ministry.

Non-PFAS containing products are available as alternative options on the market, making a ban viable, it said in the statement.

An exception would apply for professional and safety clothing, which have different safety and functionality standards.

Project leader with the consumer interest group Forbrugerrådet Tænk, Claus Jørgensen, praised the announcement but said he would prefer the ban to be extended to child strollers, furniture and carpets.

The national ban would apply until any EU ban on PFAS in products comes into force, the ministry said.

Business organisations raised concerns over enforcement of a ban that would apply in Denmark but not the EU.

“Shops and retailers trade on the international market, where there is no production specifically for Denmark,” the Danish Chamber of Commerce’s environment and circular economy manager Anette Ejersted said.

“We therefore want to see the final proposal to assess how it will affect the retail trade in Denmark,” she said.

The government is expected to prepare an executive order for the ban by July 1st next year, with a one-year phasing in period, making it effective from July 2026. It will not apply to products purchased before this date.

What are PFAS?

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used in various products since the early 1950s. Their past uses include foam in fire extinguishers, food packaging and in textiles, carpets and paints. Also known as ‘forever chemicals’, they persist in water and soil and can cause harm to human health.

Due to their chemical properties, they take a long time to break down and can be found in very low concentrations in blood samples from populations all over the world.

They are, however, unwanted in the environment because they have been found to have concerning links to health complications. Their use in materials which come into contact with foods, like paper and card, has been banned in Denmark since 2020.

PFAS have been linked to a series of health complications and, if ingested in high enough amounts, are suspected of causing liver damage, kidney damage, elevated cholesterol levels, reduced fertility, hormonal disturbances, weaker immune systems, negatively affecting foetal development and being carcinogenic.

Url copied to clipboard!