People in the village of Jämijärvi in the region of Satakunta have started avoiding walks at night. Children these days are being driven to and from school. A pack of five animals looking like wolves has been seen on local streets and in private gardens since last spring. The pack is made up of five individuals, one dark and four light-coloured. Locals very much want to know what they are.

"At least one should be shot and examined to see if they are wolfdogs or just regular dogs," says Juha Kuusikoski, who has seen them on numerous occasions.

There are thought to be 200-300 of these wolf and dog hybrids in Finland, many of them kept as pets.

"I have always liked wolves and wild animals, but since you can't get a wolf as a pet, I wanted a wolfdog," explains Anne Rippatti of Kouvola, as she strokes one of her hybrids.

She has three of them. Most of the wolfdogs to be found in Finland are 20-30% wolf. Breeders would like higher levels of wolf genes for reasons of appearance. So, pups with more wolf inheritance are imported, mainly from the United States.

Unpredictable

Finland's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Kennel Club and animal researchers consider the mix too risky to keep around humans. Retired zoology professor Erkki Pulliainen says he is unwilling to approve even the tiniest introduction of wolf genes, as inherited traits are too unpredictable.

"Litters can include individuals ranging from the overactive to the extremely phlegmatic. That phlegmatic behaviour does not predict anything. They can turn and attack people. There are examples of this elsewhere," says Pulliainen.

Now a MP, Pulliainen has called for a ban on wolfdogs in Finland. The animals are banned in neighbouring Sweden, but so far no progress has been seen in eliminating them here. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry said last week that more work will be done to move the matter forward. At very least an official registry is likely to be established. Breeders and owners already have an unofficial register.

A ban on wolfdogs would be difficult to enforce. Imports of pups could continue because of problems of identifying the wolf-dog mixes, even with DNA testing.