Largest bear hunting since 1856 - 25 may be shot in the fall

A record number of bears, as many as 43, have been dropped during the spring hunting season in Västerbotten. This has meant that there is concern among hunters that there would be no license hunting for bear in the fall.

The county administrative board now announces that 25 bears will be dropped during the autumn hunt. The reason for this is that the authority estimates, based on the bear spill inventory, that the bear strain in the county is well over 400 animals.

- Based on the analysis results, it is likely that in the fall of 2019 we had a good bit over 400 bears in the county. More precisely how many bears there were, the ongoing calculations will soon show, says Michael Schneider, predator in charge at the County Administrative Board in a press release.

According to calculations, the bear population increased in ten of the county's municipalities, while it decreased in the other five. Bjurholm now has Västerbotten's densest bear strain, with barely a bear of 4000 hectares.

- The goal has been to reduce the bear population to 350 individuals in Västerbotten and we can now conclude that the hunting quota has not been sufficient for the last five years, says Michael Schneider.

In order to slow down the growth of the tribe and reduce the number of bears in the densest areas, the County Administrative Board has now decided on license hunting for 25 bears starting August 21. Together with the 43 bears that were felled during spring hunting hunts, the withdrawal will be the largest in Västerbotten since 1856.