A total of 45 large birds may be shot in the area during the spring.
- Yes, that's good, we have to make peace with these big birds.
They can destroy for hundreds of thousands of kronor, says farmer Alfred Olofsson who lives in Ersmarksängarna north of Skellefteå.
Today, farmers need a permit for protection hunting from the County Administrative Board, but from the first of July, there will be new hunting rules throughout the country and it will be easier to shoot large birds that cause damage to the crops.
- The big difference then is that a farmer on his own initiative can conduct protection hunting without needing a special permit from us, says Ellinor Sahlén who is a game manager at the County Administrative Board in Västerbotten.
Shoots to scare
The protection hunt involves shooting someone or a couple of large birds for intimidation purposes.
- So it is not about trying to decimate the number of birds but only about trying to scare them away, says Ellinor Sahlén who also urges farmers to get in touch to get information about the new conditions and hunting times.
Alfred Olofsson is determined to try to shoot a couple of birds to get them out of the crops and he does not think it pays off, even if he has to shoot a beautiful swan.
- No not really. Before they were rare, but now they are in abundance and cause great damage. If we are to have any finances in what we grow, we have to scare them away by shooting a few, he says.