Few of you probably know that in 2022, the scientific world paid tribute to the great climate activist - a new species of tarantula (Tapinauchenius gretae) and amphibian (Pristimantis gretathunbergae) were named after Greta Thunberg. This followed her earlier symbolic recognition as Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2019, honoring her tireless fight for climate and nature protection. Meanwhile, in her native Sweden, a drama unfolds that apparently doesn’t deserve even a mention amid the flood of posts about the genocide of Palestinians by Jews.

According to press reports, the Swedish government, guided by concerns about “public safety,” has decided to solve the “problem” of 375 wolves living in the country. The plan is almost laughably simple - just reduce their population to 170 individuals. This number is supposed to represent the “reference value for the proper protection status of wolves,” as elegantly stated in the government document. The extermination process will be two-staged - first, a reduction to 270 specimens, and then, “as quickly as possible,” down to the target of 170. One might say - the final solution to the wolf question.

Rural Affairs Minister Peter Kullgren argues that the current wolf population “creates a lack of security in some parts of the country.” I’d like to point out that work on this solution has been ongoing since 2022 - the same year when the scientific world honored Greta Thunberg by naming new animal species after her. I know people who spend too much time on Facebook, where the algorithm shows them videos of surfers being devoured by sharks, so I’ve always thought that the sense of security is relative.

As we can see, fear can be verbalized, and the Rural Affairs Minister in Sweden did just that, but the climate activist couldn’t address this issue. What does our protagonist have to say about it? The young activist’s social media is overflowing with posts about Jews, Palestinians, and genocide issues. The fate of 375 wolves, of which 205 are to disappear from their native forests, apparently hasn’t broken through the flood of more important topics. After all, genocide is genocide, and wolficide… well, they’re just wolves.

There’s a bitter irony in all this, if not outright hypocrisy - the activist who had new species named after her in recognition of her commitment to environmental protection now has more important matters on her mind than the mass reduction of wild animal populations in her own country. Her feed is full of global tragedies, while local “wolficide” doesn’t deserve even a mention. Apparently, in the hierarchy of a climate activist’s sensitivities, some tragedies are more important than others.

The wolves howl, but the caravan moves on. At least Tapinauchenius gretae and Pristimantis gretathunbergae can rest easy - no one is planning their final solution yet. And the wolves? They’ll apparently have to wait until more important topics on Twitter and Instagram run their course…

Image copyrights: Little Red Riding Hood (1919), vintage illustration by Elizabeth Tyler. Original public domain image from Digital Commonwealth.

• Activism
• Ecology
• Greta Thunberg
• Marginalia