Sweden kills 20% of its brown bears in annual hunt | Sweden

Despite concerns from conservationists, Sweden has issued licenses to kill 20% of its brown bear population in the country's annual bear hunt that begins today.

Authorities have issued licenses for hunters to kill nearly 500 brown bears. According to official figures, this corresponds to about 20 percent of the total population and would reduce the number of bears in Sweden to about 2,000 – a decrease of almost 40 percent since 2008.

The high number of licenses granted has alarmed conservationists, who fear that large predator populations in Europe could collapse in some countries without adequate protection. “It is pure trophy hunting,” said Magnus Orrebrant, chairman of the Swedish Carnivores Association. “Wildlife management in Sweden is about killing animals instead of protecting them to the best of our ability.”

In the 1920s, brown bears were hunted almost to extinction in Sweden, but thanks to careful management the population recovered and peaked at about 3,300 animals in 2008. Over the past five years, however, more bears have been hunted, resulting in a record 722 animals killed last year. Licenses to shoot 486 bears have been issued this year, and an undetermined number more could be shot if bears are deemed a threat to livestock.

In November 2022, a new law gave local hunting associations more power to oversee the management of large predators, including bears. Hundreds of wolves and lynx have also been killed in recent years, raising concerns among ecologists.

Magnus Rydholm, Communications Director of the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, said: “We are simply following the guidelines of the Swedish government's wildlife policy. It is about a balance between people and large predators. That is why the bear hunt begins tomorrow.”

However, some hunters have expressed concern about the decline in the brown bear population. Anders Nilsson, a hunter in Norrland, northern Sweden, said: “There are people within the hunting community who are concerned that too many bears are being killed.”

If bear hunting continues at similar levels next year, the country will be just one annual hunt away from the minimum number of 1,400 bears that the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency considers necessary to maintain a viable population.

Brown bears are a “strictly protected species” in Europe, and conservationists argue that the high hunting quotas violate the EU Habitats Directive, which states that “the deliberate hunting or killing of strictly protected species is prohibited.” Under EU rules, this ban can be lifted as a “last resort” to protect public safety, crops or natural flora and fauna.

Researchers are concerned that the brown bear is developing in the same direction as the moose population in Sweden, says Orrebrant, which has declined by 60 percent since the end of the last century.

Environmentalists argue that a larger bear population would make Sweden a more attractive destination for ecotourism, which would generate more revenue than the sale of hunting licenses.

Orrebrant said: “Because hunters have killed too many moose, the bear is now suffering.”