Court suspends hunting of bears given nuisance status
The Tallinn Circuit Court has suspended permits to hunt problem bears pending a ruling on an appeal filed by NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad, which had challenged the permits.
NGO Estonia's Large Predators challenged 11 Environmental Board orders authorizing the hunting of problem bears in court. On Monday, the Tallinn Administrative Court partially granted the NGO's request for preliminary legal protection, meaning that some of the Environmental Board's bear hunting permits remained in effect, while others were suspended pending a final resolution of the court case.
The Tallinn Circuit Court has now suspended the permits covering hunts that the administrative court had allowed to continue on September 14.
Tanel Türna, head of the Environmental Board's Hunting and Aquatic Life Department, said issuing special permits in carefully considered and justified cases has been the right approach both for bears that pose a danger to people and those that repeatedly cause damage.
The Environmental Board said Estonia's bear population is doing well and continues to grow. Unfortunately, this has recently led to problems between people and bears on an almost daily basis.
"Continuing to hunt problem bears under carefully considered and justified special permits is important both for public safety and in cases involving animals that repeatedly cause damage," Türna said. "The current court order has created a somewhat unusual situation because, even in the case of animals that the board has determined need to be hunted and for which hunting is justified, another solution will have to be found for some time."
The Environmental Board is contesting the complaint and is seeking to keep the bear hunting permits in effect. The current court order does not preclude the issuance of justified special permits for problem bears in the future.
Estonia's brown bear population has grown since 2013 and is currently estimated at around 1,100. This fall, the Environmental Board has issued orders authorizing the hunting of 30 problem bears. Hunters have killed 10 bears under those permits.
NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad has previously challenged permits for hunting bears and wolves.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Marcus Turovski
