I just read an article in The Local - Sweden's English language news - about an incident where an eagle had eaten a little girl's pet bunny, and the responsible dad called police. However, police could not investigate, because apparently its not illegal for an eagle to get a meal.
This article is a good example why The Local makes such a good read for an expat. As it is staffed by expats, the magazine often picks up phenomena that is curiously Swedish, such as this. I've come to a stage where I am not surprised by much, but this was novel. Not so much talk about nature and ecosystmems in that family? The dad's noble gesture of calling the police to seems like an effort to appear to be 'doing something about it' in his daughter's eyes. I certainly hope that they will never fall victim to any form of crime or physical harm.
Quite different are things where I originally come from. My family's roots are in northern Finland (although I have only been there on vacations now and then). Reindeer business is big up there, and a conflict has risen between the locals and the environmentalists. Reindeer people often kill eagles and bears illegally because they prey on reindeer and so cause losses. The state gives out compensation, but this has not stopped the eager hunters. To many people it seems highly unprobable that eagles would actually hunt reindeer, but here's some nice footage of a hunt.
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