Farmer from Troms sentenced to 75 days in prison after lynx killing – NRK Troms and Finnmark

A man in his 50s from Troms has been sentenced to 75 days in prison after shooting and killing a lynx without a felling permit.

Nord-Troms and Senja District Court has sentenced him for violating the Natural Diversity Act.

The farmer shot the lynx from his own barn. It must then have been inside the enclosure for the sheep several times.

The convicted person has not admitted criminal guilt for the relationship, but he has acknowledged the actual circumstances.

Will appeal the case

The man claimed in court that he acted out of necessity. He still does.

– He has a plan to appeal the case. The reason is that the sentence makes it impossible for him to defend the grazing animals from attacks by wild animals. It makes him feel he is not taking care of his own flock of sheep when they are attacked in his own barn, says the man’s defender, Hallvard Østgård.

The farmer explained in court that prior to the felling he had seen a lynx inside the sheep pen several times via a game camera. He also found carcasses of sheep on the farm. This happened in March last year.

The man then applied to the State Administrator for a felling permit.

The application had not been processed when the lynx reappeared and was shot.

The judgment states that the farmer immediately contacted the police, the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate and the State Administrator. He announced that he had shot the lynx.

Disagreement about emergency guardian

The court disagrees that the farmer acted out of necessity.

– In the court’s view, the evidence leaves no reasonable doubt that the defendant had decided in advance to kill the lynx if it were to return to the sheep pen. He was in a position to shoot it, regardless of the emergency situation and the options for action, the judgment states.

The court also points out that the lynx is a strongly endangered species and on the so-called red list of animals that are threatened with extinction.

The defender says they want to appeal the verdict because it could have an impact on the grazing industry.

– There are many actors in the grazing industry who have to watch that their animals are taken of wild animals, so the issue is relevant for several people, says Østgård.