Swedish forests with Siberian jays can now be clear-cut, according to legal proceedings which give land-owners the right to log forests with Siberian jays. The landowners who have been enforcing the so called ”Siberian Jay-cases” in Sweden have been backed up by the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) and forestry companies. The decision is now criticized by the environmental NGO Protect the Forest.
In the judgement it says that ”the Siberian jay is a relatively common bird even in the concerned area and to prohibit logging is a great interference for the landowners”.
Elin Götmark, spokesperson in Protect the Forest, comments:
“The court has disregarded that it is the preservation of the Siberian jay which should determine the decision of the court. Even the precautionary principle must be weighed in, which hasn’t happened. The judgement leaves the question open about what kind of background material that is required to make an assessment about the protection of species. A feasible consequence of the court’s decision should have been to send the case back to the Swedish Forest Agency for further investigation instead of allowing the forest to be logged.”
This article was first published in Swedish by Natursidan