The hunter and society

The Hunter and Society

Hunting is an important and natural part of society.
Hunting is needed to balance certain wildlife populations, especially for the sake of forestry, agriculture, and traffic safety.
Hunting is required to control unwanted and unnatural species.
Hunters are needed for traffic-related wildlife accidents, protective hunting, and euthanasia.
Hunting has great recreational value and means a lot to many people, with significant economic importance both in retail and for landowners.
Hunting and wild game meat are natural resources that should be utilized and managed wisely.

Balance at Risk
The natural ecological balance has long been heavily impacted—and in parts, disrupted—by humans. Even in sparsely populated Sweden, humans are the dominant species (see the ecology chapter), and for over a thousand years, human activity has radically transformed nature. As mentioned earlier in this book, all native Swedish species that thrive today have already adapted to human impact. Even in areas where nature seems untouched, human influence exists—and extreme conflicts between species and humans are usually not tolerated.

At the same time, forestry and agriculture increase and change food availability for many herbivores. Non-native species alter the living conditions for native species significantly. And so on.

Humans in Control
That humans have shaped nature in this way is a matter of opinion, and various forces in society—economic, political, and ideological—try to influence its development in different directions.
However, everything points to the fact that for the foreseeable future, hunting is required to control many game species. Political decisions determine how large wildlife populations we should have. These populations must not only be kept at a reasonable level from an ecological standpoint but also at an economically (e.g. grazing and predator damage) and safety-wise (traffic) acceptable level. Interests of hunters, landowners, and rural communities, as well as the role of wild game meat as an ecological and economic resource, are also important parts of the final balance.

In the midst of all this is you – the hunter. You are a party in this discussion, and at the same time, you bear a significant responsibility for how practical hunting is conducted.

Specialist knowledge
As a hunter, you possess special knowledge and experience that most of the population lacks. This also means that you automatically have a moral responsibility to contribute to society with your knowledge. The starting point is voluntary work – just like most associations and recreational activities are based on.

In some cases, the state may compensate hunters for efforts such as at traffic accidents and in research. This is not considered a “salary” in the usual sense, but rather reimbursement for costs incurred.

Nevertheless, it sends a clear signal that the hunter’s contributions are valuable to society.

Surveys, protective measures and culling

Hunters’ survey efforts are very important for both wildlife management and research. Hunters have long been a valuable research resource and, thanks to their numbers and local knowledge, can provide extensive and comprehensive data for surveys.

In areas affected by wild boar, it may be a matter of helping severely impacted farmers with fencing or measures to divert the wildlife from areas where they are causing damage. Hunters are also expected to assist with culling when damage occurs. This doesn’t only apply to wild boar, but also to deer, birds and other small game species.

People’s movement

Hunters are not alone with all these responsibilities. According to Sifo surveys, more than half a million people hunt at least once a year. Over 276,000 people bought a state hunting permit for the 2010/11 hunting year – roughly the same number as licensed football players in Sweden.

There are two major hunting organisations: Jägarnas Riksförbund and Svenska Jägareförbundet. They are both consulted on legislative and hunting-related decisions and help their approximately 200,000 members.

Other organisations, such as the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF), the Swedish Landowners’ Federation, the Swedish Kennel Club and forestry associations, also have strong involvement in hunting issues.

Laws and Organization

There are many laws, ordinances, and regulations that concern hunters and hunting. You have encountered important parts of the legislation in other sections of this book. Laws, ordinances, and regulations are sometimes amended – and it is the hunter’s responsibility to stay informed about what applies.

To ensure that you have the most recent version of the legislation, you should look up the original texts online: www.notisum.se, or, for example, on the websites of government agencies and county administrative boards. You can also easily search using common search engines, for example, by entering “jaktförordning” (hunting ordinance), and you will quickly find the right source.

Laws that Affect Hunting and Hunters

Here is a general overview of the laws that either directly or indirectly (through corresponding ordinances or agency regulations) govern a hunter’s everyday life:

The Hunting Act – Regulates, among other things, wildlife conservation, the right to hunt, and how hunting is conducted.

The Weapons Act – Regulates the possession, handling, and use of firearms and ammunition.

The Act on Wildlife Management Areas – Specifies how a wildlife management area should function and what authority it has.

The Off-Road Driving Act – Determines, among other things, how hunters may use off-road vehicles in forests.

The Act on the Supervision of Dogs and Cats – Important for all who own a hunting dog.

The Animal Welfare Act – How animals should be treated in captivity.

The Food Act – Regulates what can be done with game meat.

The Public Order Act – Affects where firearms may be used.

The Act on Flammable and Explosive Goods – Concerns ammunition and gunpowder handling, including for reloaders.

The Reindeer Husbandry Act – Governs special hunting rights for the Sámi people.

The Constitution – Includes laws like the Land Code and Environmental Code, which regulate land use and the protection of animals, plants, and nature.

The most important laws for hunters are the Hunting Act and the Weapons Act. Under these laws are the Hunting Ordinance and the Firearms Ordinance. And under those are the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s and the Police Authority’s regulations.

The Structure of Laws and Regulations

Laws form the basis of the entire regulatory framework and can only be changed by a decision of the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament). The laws state what the government or other authorities are allowed to decide.

The government complements a law with additional rules called ordinances (e.g., the Hunting Ordinance or the Firearms Ordinance). Ordinances are often more detailed and specific than the laws themselves.

Some decisions and regulations are delegated to agencies such as the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the National Police Board, the county administrative boards, or other authorities. When a state agency issues rules, they are called regulations, which are often accompanied by “general guidelines” to help users interpret the legal details.

Hunting Seasons Are Set by Ordinance

An example of a regulatory framework that is central for hunters and that changes periodically is the general hunting season. This is the ordinance that specifies when a person with hunting rights may hunt and harvest certain game species without a special permit.

Because laws are meant to be relatively permanent while hunting seasons must be adjusted regularly, the Hunting Act states the following “The government may issue regulations on the times when different types of game may be hunted in different parts of the country, permits for hunting during a special hunting season (license), and permits for hunting to prevent wildlife damage.”

This means that a decision by the government is enough to change the general hunting season for a species or to authorize licensed or protective hunting.

For certain species, conditions change each year, and the regulations are more or less local across the country. Therefore, some decisions are delegated to the county administrative boards – for example, regarding the general hunting season and license allocations for moose, red deer, and certain large predators, as well as some protective hunting issues. County administrative boards may also decide on restrictions in the general hunting season for small game, such as during harsh winters.

Some hunting time and protective hunting issues are considered so important – such as hunting of protected species, the right to issue licenses, hunting seasons, and protective hunting – that these responsibilities lie with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

Local Regulations

Hunters also need to follow additional decisions and regulations, such as:

• The police decide on firearm permits and on, for example, euthanasia after traffic accidents and protective hunting of predators or other animals deemed dangerous to humans.

• Municipalities can appoint specially designated protective hunters to control pest species. Municipalities also generally have a local ordinance that may contain rules about dog handling, firearms, and shooting.

• In local hunting clubs or wildlife management areas, decisions are made that directly affect hunters, such as leases, fees, and much more.

The Hierarchy of Regulations

A lower-level regulation or rule may not override a regulation higher up in the legal hierarchy. An ordinance may not contradict the law. A county administrative board’s decision may not override an ordinance – and so on.

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine where the boundaries lie. For example, a wildlife management area might decide to restrict the general hunting season for small game such as roe deer. Such a decision cannot be made arbitrarily, as it constitutes a significant restriction of the hunting rights holder’s entitlement.