Russia has proposed introducing uniform rules for shooting animals in nature reserves

According to the Izvestia newspaper, the Expert Council on Nature Reserves proposed to clarify and establish rules for shooting and capturing animals in specially protected natural areas (SPNA). In its appeal to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, the organization calls for the development of a legal act that would regulate the organization and implementation of measures to control the number of wild animals in nature reserves and national parks.

Experts suggest compiling a complete list of cases when such activities may be permissible, as well as identifying the necessary documents and scientific justification. They also propose creating an expert commission under the Ministry of Natural Resources, which will consider applications for shooting or trapping animals, as well as determine the procedure for disposing of products obtained as a result of hunting. Decisions made must be published on the department’s website.

Co-chairman of the Expert Council on Nature Reserves, Vsevolod Stepanitsky, noted that currently there is no single document that would regulate the organization and implementation of measures to control the number of wild animals in federal protected areas. He emphasized that such a legal act is necessary to avoid an arbitrary approach to these issues.

Representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed receipt of the document and said that they are currently studying the proposals of experts. The department noted that this topic requires careful consideration, since some of the experts’ proposals are already taken into account in the current legislation and do not require additional reinforcement.

Regulation of animal numbers in specially protected natural areas includes measures to change or preserve the population of certain species. To achieve this goal, methods of trapping or shooting are used. Experts explained that such measures can only be applied in certain cases, for example, in an epidemic situation or a threat to protected natural complexes due to excessive growth of animal populations.