The situation is like something out of a detective novel, and it is only by piecing all the factors together over time that one begins to understand a deliberately orchestrated smear campaign. Who is it aimed at? Individual hunters, the hunting community as a whole, and the researchers at the LVMI “Silava”. Its goal? Most likely to stop the hunting of wolves and lynx in Latvia. There may be other objectives, but given the secrecy surrounding those who oppose hunting, it is difficult to understand what exactly the so-called “only” lobby group for the protection of lynx and wolves in Latvia actually wants. Moreover, it is completely anonymous, operating mainly on the “Pietiek.com” platform, incessantly churning out articles smearing hunters and scientists, and, on top of that, it has likely orchestrated the biggest scandal related to hunting in Latvia.

However, a few names are gradually beginning to emerge. The person now considered mythical – Mareks Viļķins – is active online, has spent years terrorising responsible institutions with phone calls and letters, and was described in 2014 by NRA.lv as a “lone wolf in the fight against hunting”. On the other hand, Mr Viļķins has never appeared at any of the meetings held to discuss wolf and lynx hunting, nor has he ever revealed his true face. At the third consultation on updating the Eurasian lynx species protection plan held at “Silava” on 20 July, one of those present emphasised that Mr Viļķins did not live in Latvia and therefore could not attend meetings. After this meeting, an article by one Elīna Kalniņa appeared on the aforementioned “Pietiek.com” titled “The stigma of the ‘geographical exception’. Who wants to keep it in Latvia – hunters or researchers?”, in which the author speaks quite disparagingly about hunters and researchers alike. “Just like in some European ‘bordertown’ or zone of lawlessness, where some time ago, at the dawn of a democratic society, clever ‘boys’ from the Latvian accession negotiations with the European Union had arranged an exceptional status for their ‘self-proclaimed property’ for their own pleasure, and now, after nearly twenty years, we are all – the entire Latvian society – forced to wear and endure it as a shameful mark of backwardness,” writes the author.

On 13 August, an article by one Viktors Jefimovs appeared on the same platform entitled “Why even the survey questionnaires for the development of wolf and lynx ‘protection’ plans are being hidden”.

What links these two articles, apart from the belief that the researchers carrying out the update of the large carnivore plan are incompetent and bought off? Both articles use an image in their visual layout featuring a hunter named Gunita, who hunted a lynx at the end of last year. We remind you that this picture and the information published on a hunting portal caused a huge scandal in the public media. And if we look at this artificially created “scandal” and the timing of it? It’s simple! It was created exactly a few weeks before the meeting to discuss the species protection plans for lynx, wolves and bears was held at “Silava”.

Chronology of events

The start date for the project “Updating the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) protection plan” is 1 July 2016. The same applies to the project “Updating the grey wolf (Canis lupus) protection plan”. Both these projects are financed from the “Environmental protection projects” sub-programme of the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund budget.

On 22 December 2016, articles appeared in various sources claiming that a hunter was “proud of having hunted a mother lynx, leaving her cubs to their fate”. These articles triggered a huge wave of hate speech, as well as the impression that the public was against lynx hunting. It must be admitted, however, that the hate speech and identical comments were reposted 1:1 from one portal to another, creating a false impression that a large part of the public was against this type of hunting. In reality, this “bubble” was created by only a couple of dozen diligent trolls, who were working to create a perception of public opinion. This leads to the question – who funded all this farce?

Furthermore, the writer Dace Rukšāne, who initially condemned the hunter’s actions, later publicly apologised to her. Of course, this opinion from the writer was also attacked by a whole bunch of trolls, just like anyone else who tried to defend the hunter. The “scandal” was artificially maintained for a few more weeks with the aim of influencing public opinion.

It should be noted, however, that the picture in question was essentially stolen from a portal intended for a hunting audience and “released to the masses” with exaggerated and even fabricated, completely mendacious and false explanations.

On 17 January 2017, a meeting was held at LVMI “Silava” to discuss the species protection plans for lynx, wolves and bears, where the duly ignited “scandal” was dismissed as exactly that – an artificially stirred-up commotion. During the meeting, the lead researcher at “Silava”, Jurģis Jansons, rightly emphasised that the discussions about lynx that had appeared on various internet portals were not worthy of the institute and would be stopped if they continued during the seminar. Naturally, an article followed on “Pietiek.com” after the meeting, mocking Mr Jansons’ remark.

What is the lobby group for the protection of lynx and wolves?

It is possible that this question can only be answered by the members of this group. Whether this group is registered as an association, whether it is simply a closed interest group on the social network Facebook, who represents it, and where it receives its funding – this is not known. The phrase “only lobby group for the protection of lynx and wolves” first appeared in comments submitted to the draft lynx protection plan before the meeting on 20 July. One thing is clear: this “protection lobby group” is anonymous and is represented by unidentified individuals who, for incomprehensible reasons, are hiding from the public. The most paradoxical thing is that there is a part of the public that actually reacts to the comments of these anonymous individuals.

The question remains – why do these people hide and why are they unable to openly express their opinion to the public, instead choosing to engage in “trolling” and promoting hate speech? Unlike this anonymous lobby group, hunters and scientists openly express their opinion, while simultaneously exposing themselves to, at times, rude and tactless comments.

Plan development

The end date for the wolf and lynx protection plan update project is 30 September of this year. Until then, the anonymous “lobby group’s” smear campaign is likely to continue. It is interesting to note, however, that the large carnivore management system in Latvia has so far ensured an increase in the population numbers of these species. Despite hunting, wolves and lynx in Latvia are doing well; their numbers are stable or increasing. This same system allows for effective reaction if the status of a population deteriorates by restricting hunting. Furthermore, Latvia has to report to Europe on all activities regarding the management of lynx and wolves.

Therefore, one can only conclude that, in total, this “lobby group” can only be described as creators of fake news who operate on the “Pietiek.com” platform with one goal – to misinform and agitate the public.

This article is produced as part of the “Green Anatomicum” series of articles by the Forest Certification Council of Latvia. Green Anatomicum – We reveal the true essence of things. Disinformation, myths and the interpretation of facts can have significant consequences for the well-being and sustainability of individuals, companies and society as a whole – we work, analyse and prove the true essence of things.