Latest news Bear hunt begins in Sweden
Despite criticism from animal rights activists, the annual bear hunt begins in Sweden. From Wednesday until October 15, a total of 486 bears will be released for shooting in various administrative areas, according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency Naturvårdsverket.
21.08.2024, 14:28
SDA
Last year, 649 specimens were allowed to be killed. As with other predators in the Scandinavian country, strict conditions apply to the licensed hunting of brown bears.
According to estimates by the Environmental Protection Agency, there were around 2,800 bears in Sweden in the fall of 2022 at the end of the hunting season. According to preliminary figures, this population had fallen to around 2,450 one year later.
Each of the seven administrative areas is allowed to decide in advance how many bears they will release for shooting. More than 70 bears were killed in the first few hours, as the specialist journal "Svensk Jakt" reported. According to the authorities, the bear hunt is mainly carried out to regulate the bear population and prevent damage to domestic animals and reindeer.
Conservationists are concerned that the number of hunting licenses is too high and that the bear population is being cut too severely as a result. The predator protection project "Sweden's Big Five" is talking about "trophy hunting" and breaches of EU directives. The project complains that hunting cannot be reconciled with the bear's protected status within the EU.
