Hunting close to the city reduces wildlife accidents - now the model will be spread in the country

- We have seen a significant reduction in the number of accidents, says Anders Wiklund who is hunting leader in Falu game management.

Two years ago, Falu game management was started.

Today it consists of about 20 hunters who manage and hunt on both municipal and private land located near the Falu urban area.

To participate, people must have completed an education and qualified.

It is mainly deer that are hunted and hunting has had an impact on the number of wildlife accidents.

In previous years, about 80 deer were killed each year in wildlife accidents near central Falun.

Through the hunt close to the city, that number has been halved.

- About 80 deer still die a year, but then we shoot 40 of them, says Anders Wiklund.

In addition to hunting, game management also works to feed deer in the winter in strategic places so that the animals do not have to cross well-trafficked roads.

The model spreads

So far this year, the number of wildlife accidents across the country has dropped, in part due to fewer people traveling on the roads during the corona pandemic.

But Falun still stands out in the statistics.

Across the country, wildlife accidents have fallen by 15 percent, in Dalarna by 17 percent and in Falun by 30 percent, according to the National Wildlife Accident Council.

Now more municipalities want to follow the work that Falu wildlife management has done, including Borlänge and Gagnef.

At the end of September, representatives from the Swedish Hunters' Association also visited Falun to be able to spread the model further in the country.