Russian Bear Hunting shut down

[csutton7]

SCI - First For Hunters
In the Crosshairs -- e-news from SCI's Washington Office
The latest and hottest news on federal, state, and international
political and conservation events
April 26, 2005
** Breaking News **

Russia Closes Hunting Season until Further Notice
Not only has the Spring Brown Bear hunt been closed in the southern province of Kamchatka, but SCI has just been notified that all hunting throughout Russia has been closed until further notice. This news comes to us directly from our Asian Program Coordinator, Dr. Andrey Subbotin, who resides in Moscow. It appears that there is a struggle brewing between the government agencies. The hunting season has typically been opened and scheduled by the Ministry of Agriculture, but now the Federal Prosecutor’s Office is demanding that the opening of the hunting season go through Federal Ecological Expertise, which is a branch of the Ministry of Environment. It has been estimated that nearly 1,000 Americans and four to five hundred Europeans travel to Kamchatka each year for hunting, generally for brown bear. At this time, Dr. Subbotin is in the process of speaking with many of the regional and federal hunting administrators. Their general consensus is that the antis present a danger as they seem to have an influence on the government. SCI will continue to report on this situation as more details become available. Please direct your questions or comments to Bob Byrne, SCIF Conservation Program Manager, at [email protected] or (202) 543-8733.

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[Tom]

Doesn't that say all hunting in all of Russia is shut down now? Bad stuff there.

 

[Tom]

today

April 27, 2005
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Russia Closes Hunting Season until Further Notice – An Update
SCI has just received a clarification of yesterday’s news about hunting in Russia – only brown bear hunting is currently affected; however, other hunting may also be affected in the very near future. As reported, SCIF’s Asian Program Coordinator, Dr. Andrey Subbotin, has been meeting with Russian outfitters to discuss the extent of the hunting closures.  This morning, Dr. Subbotin spoke with staff at SCI's DC Office to give a brief update of the situation.  He reports that, at this time, only the spring Brown Bear hunting season (May) is closed, but that other species, including ibex, wild boar, mountain sheep, and moose, may be in jeopardy in the next few months. The reason for this is that it would take at least three months for governmental agencies to work through the process, thus potentially eliminating all hunting from June through August. A meeting is scheduled Thursday between Russian governmental officials, all Russian outfitters and Dr. Subbotin. After this meeting, SCI will

 

[csutton7]

SCI - First For Hunters
In the Crosshairs -- e-news from SCI's Washington Office
The latest and hottest news on federal, state, and international
political and conservation events
April 29, 2005

Russian Hunting Update – April 29th



“Hunter Activism Opens Some Brown Bear Hunting”



SCIF’s Asian Program Director, Dr. Andrey Subbotin, worked with a group of outfitters in Moscow to remedy the brown bear problem. Thanks to the increased activism that has resulted, provincial officials have been alerted in a number of provinces and have agreed to issue the necessary proclamations to open brown bear hunting in their own province.


According to our sources in Russia, three (3) provinces are open for Spring Brown Bear hunting is Russia at this time. It seems that the provincial representatives of the Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk and Magadan regions have reinstated bear hunting.


The USFWS is aware of the situation in Russia. Documentation of legal hunts will need to be provided for trophies coming into the US.


Due to unforeseen changes that could occur at any time, SCI continues to advise hunters to check with their outfitter immediately for the latest information.


If you have further questions, please contact SCI’s Washington DC office at 202-543-8733 or [email protected].

 

[csutton7]

Russia Hunting Update

More News (bad) on Russian Bear Hunting – Trophy Imports in Doubt


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has alerted SCI that until the situation in Russia is sorted out, they do not expect valid CITES export permits to be available from Russian federal authorities for bear trophies taken this spring. Without a validated Russian CITES export permit, no import to the U.S. or to any other CITES country will be possible.



The FWS said that they spoke to Pavel Pavlov, Chief of Game and Animal Utilization for the Ministry of Agriculture in Russia. According to him, no decrees have been approved by the Russian federal (as opposed to provincial) authorities to open ANY spring bear hunting seasons in Russia and there is no intention to issue any at this time. Mr. Pavlov also told FWS that any pre-approved CITES export permits that may have been issued would not likely be certified by the Russian Government.


Brown bears are listed on CITES Appendix II which require an export permit from the country of origin to accompany a trophy that is imported into any other CITES country, including the U.S.

Hunters are well advised not to attempt to bring their trophies into the U.S. until a valid CITES export permit has been obtained from the Russian authorities. Even the FWS says that the situation is fluid, however, and SCI will continue to monitor the situation and will keep you informed. We also encourage you to double check with your outfitter for the latest information.