BREAKING NEWS: 486 bears are planned to be shot, when the controversial licensed trophy hunt starts on August 21. This will eliminate 20% of Sweden’s bear population. The hunt is not compatible with the bear’s status as a “Strictly protected species” within the EU.
Additionally, possibly another 50 to 100 bears can be expected to be killed during the so-called “protective hunt”. 100 years of brown bear conservation progress in Sweden is right now being undone at an alarming speed. Mainly because of the high hunting quotas permitted by the Swedish government.
Halving the bear population
The Swedish government is on a clear path to bring down Sweden’s bear population as close as possible to a defined minimum level, called “Favourable reference population”, which would mean about 1,400 bears. To compare with the official survey estimate of 2,450 bears in 2023. In total, this means a loss of almost 60% of Sweden’s bears, compared to 2008, when the officially estimated number was 3,300 bears.
In 2023, according to official statistics, 648 bears were shot during “licensed quota hunting” and a further 74 bears killed during so-called “protective hunting”. Hunting is by far the main limiting factor for Sweden’s bear population. Poaching is a problem and a crime, but it is the extensive “licensed quota hunting” (trophy hunt) that poses the main problem for the bear population. Especially when combined with what is seen as generous permits for “protective hunting”. The licensed hunt is officially justified by the government and authorities as a method to actively reduce the total number of bears. The question as to why, yet remains unanswered.
An authorized illegal hunt
The bear is since long a “Strictly protected species” in the EU, which means that no population-regulating hunting is allowed. According to Article 12 of the Habitats Directive, “deliberate hunting or killing of Strictly protected species is prohibited”. However, Sweden still permits this trophy hunting annually, clearly in breach of the law in the EU Habitats Directive. Additionally, the bear is included in the Bern Convention and classified as “Near Threatened (NT)” in the Swedish Red List (2020), published by the Swedish Species Information Centre (SLU Artdatabanken) at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Co-existence with bears
“There are several ways to better live side by side, with many more than 3,000 bears in Sweden”, says Magnus Orrebrant, Chairman of the Swedish Carnivore Association. “By taking preventive measures to avoid damage and by using the great tourism value of bear watching as a tool for countryside development, which our neighbouring country Finland has proven to be very good at. At the end, also a clear limit is needed for the protective hunting, for only when major problems are caused. As a comparison: on Japan’s northern island Hokkaido live an estimated 12,000 brown bears, according to the BBC, in an area of 83,000 km2 (20% of Sweden’s land size) with a human population density three times as high as that in Sweden. Additionally, in Japan, there is also a large population of Asian black bears, estimated to 10,000 individuals. In one of the world’s most densely populated countries.”
The bear’s role in nature
The bear plays a vital role in Sweden’s ecosystems since the Ice age. As a top predator it influences the numbers, population sizes and behaviour of its’ prey species. Bears are omnivores, meaning that they eat almost anything from carrion to plants. In Sweden, bears primarily eat large amounts of ants, vegetation and berries. They spread seeds far and wide, planted through their rear end with excellent fertilizer around.
Heavy impact from the massive bear hunt
Jonas Kindberg is a leader of the S”candinavian Bear project”, a research program run together by the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences (SLU) together with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). He is sceptical to the extent of the bear hunt.
“We can absolutely not continue to shoot this many bears if we are to have a stable bear population around the 2,400 bears we have today. We risk to quickly face critical consequences for the bear population. The bear is sensitive to a high hunting pressure. Bears take 3 to 4 years to mature, they have only a few cubs at a time and only every 2 to 3 years. During the hunt it is very difficultto tell females from males, and the females are much more valuable to the population. Therefore, you risk to end up in a situation that may take very a long time to repair.”
Is there a bear problem in Sweden?
In 2022, 11 sheep were killed by bears in Sweden, out of its 509,000 sheep. 220,000 of those sheep were killed by humans for our consumption. Over the last century, two people have been killed in bear accidents in Sweden (2004 and 2007), both in connection with hunting and gun dogs.
Increased legal challenges
2024’s bear hunt, starting 21 August, will further put the spotlight on the already existing violation cases against Sweden for how the country is handling its large carnivores. Such as the licensed hunt of the wolf (a case that the European Commission already has open against Sweden), and the formal complaint lodged with the EU Commission in April 2024 concerning Sweden’s licensed hunt of lynx.
Links
- The Swedish Carnivore Association 240628 (in Swedish)
- Official bear statistics in Sweden (Swedish)
- 648 bears killed in licensed hunting in Sweden 2023 (Swedish)
- Domestic animal losses and other damage by wildlife 2022 (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, 2021, Swedish)
- BBC about the 12,000 bears in Hokkaido, Japan
- Bear facts (Sweden’s Big Five 2024)
- Sweden to kill 20% of its brown bears, starting August 21 (Sweden’s Big Five 2024)
- Carnivores as moneymakers (Sweden’s Big Five 2024)
- Swedes like their large carnivores (Sweden’s Big Five 2024)
- Europe’s Environmental Bad boy (Sweden’s Big Five 2024)
- Sweden greenlights hunt of nearly 500 bears, a fifth of total population
