New Delhi: In a decision that has resulted in widespread shock and outcry, Sweden has decided to inaugurate its annual bear hunt season by issuing licenses to kill 20 per cent of its brown bear population. The high volume of hunting licenses during the bear hunt season which began on August 21, 2024, has drawn strong criticism from animal conservationists and other sections of the society. In this article, we will learn more about this.
Why is Sweden killing the bear?
Officials in Sweden have granted licenses for 486 brown bears to be killed by hunters. It is around 20 per cent of the total bear population in the country and as a result, the number of bears in Sweden would drop to approximately 2,000. According to reports, the bear population has decreased in Sweden in recent years due to the effects of the hunting licenses. In 2023, the license to cull them was at 649, a record high. In 2022, the number was 622 and it was 501 in 2021.
In Sweden, an estimate is done every five years to determine the bear population in the country. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, a government body, there were 2,900 bears in 2017. However, in the next survey, the number had dropped to 2,450 bears. The grant of such a high number of licenses has alarmed conservationists who fear that the populations of large European predators could collapse if they are not properly protected. Sweden’s Big Five, a conservation group, has criticised the decision to give the licenses and has stated that “100 years of brown bear conservation progress is being undone at an alarming speed”.
In the 1920s, rampant hunting almost drove brown bears to extinction in Sweden. Then, due to extensive conservation programmes, the brown bear population peaked at about 3,300 in 2008. However, since then, the bear population has declined rapidly due to the same old problem of hunting. While the official decision this year allows hunters to shoot 486 bears, more could be shot where bears are assessed to be a threat to farm animals.
In November 2022, local hunting associations got more power to oversee the management of large predators. Apart from bears, the large-scale hunting of wolves and lynx has also evoked criticism from conservation groups. In April, the Swedish Carnivore Association even filed a complaint against the country’s government for its lynx hunting policies claiming that it was against the Habitats Directive of the EU which classifies lynx, bears and wolves as “in need of strict protection.” It means that hunting the animal to regulate its population is not permitted, an excuse that the Swedish government is using to justify its decision. According to the Big Five, the government aims to bring down the brown bear population ‘as close as possible to a defined minimum level’, around 1,400. Infact, according to the Swedish Red List (2020), brown bears have been classified as ‘Near Threatened’.
Officials in Sweden have granted licenses for 486 brown bears to be killed by hunters. It is around 20 per cent of the total bear population in the country and as a result, the number of bears in Sweden would drop to approximately 2,000. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
