Published 18.26
The license hunt for bears begins on August 21. A total of 394 bears may be shot in this year’s license hunt, which corresponds to 14 percent of the population. The Nature Conservancy strongly criticizes the number. Likewise the Swedish Carnivore Association, which will appeal the decisions.
The most recent total inventory of bears was made in 2022 in Sweden. It showed that there are about 2,800 bears in the country. The bear is strictly protected in the EU’s species and habitat directive and protected in Swedish legislation.
Licensed bear hunting takes place in the seven northernmost counties. The last to make a decision on allocation was the county administrative board in Dalarna County, which announced its decision on Tuesday. There, a total of 50, of which a maximum of 27 females, may be killed compared to a total of 75 last year.
Doubled number
In Norrbotten, the number of bears that may be killed this year is almost doubled compared to last year: 46 compared to 24 last year. The county has not set a female quota in this year’s license hunt. There is an explanation for the almost doubled number:
– This year there were so few bears, only 14, that were killed during the protection hunt in Norrbotten last spring. Some years there are usually up to 60, says Gunilla Manbré, head of the Natural Resources and Reindeer Nutrition Unit at the County Administrative Board.
100 bears may be shot in Västerbotten, the same number as last year. In the fall of 2024, there were just over 500 bears in the county, the number must be reduced to the target of 350.
– We believe that it is far too high a withdrawal considering that the bear is protected and strictly protected. License hunting in recent years has led to a sharp reduction in the bear population. Since protective hunting is added in addition to license hunting, the total take will be greater than the decided quotas, says Isak Isaksson, expert on predators at the Nature Conservation Association, who this year has chosen not to appeal the decisions.
Want to have the decision reviewed
The Swedish Carnivore Association, on the other hand, must appeal against all decisions on licensed bear hunting. The association is skeptical that Västerbotten will remove 100 bears and has recently appealed the decision to the administrative court. The association wants the decision to be tested against the EU’s species and habitats directive, which is superior to Swedish legislation.
– In general, we appeal the decisions regarding protective hunting and license hunting. We want a viable bear tribe, says Björn Israelsson, lawyer at the Swedish Carnivore Association.
License hunt for bear 2026
This year’s allocation in the license hunt for bear with last year’s figure in parentheses:
Västerbotten County: 100 (100)
Jämtland county: 85 (108)
Gävleborg county: 70, of which a maximum of 35 females (75)
Dalarna County: 50, of which a maximum of 27 females (75)
Norrbotten county: 46 (24)
Västernorrland County: 40 (85)
Värmland County: 3, of which one female (3)
