To make wild boar hunting more effective, it is necessary to simplify the regulations

As Michał Budzyński (editor-in-chief of the portal gunslab.pl) and Maciej Perzyna (veterinarian associated with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences) emphasize, current legal regulations, instead of supporting hunters in shooting wild boars, may effectively discourage them from doing so. According to experts, changes in regulations are necessary to effectively fight ASF through intensive sanitary shooting of wild boars.

Easier obtaining qualifications

According to the authors, the list of regulations that require change or clarification is long and concerns several aspects. The first is to enlarge the group of active hunters by optimizing the acquisition of basic hunting rights. This should be achieved by shortening the hunting experience and increasing the availability and scope of courses and examinations. Another thing is the return to the possibility of training hunting dogs in pens, and the recognition of the important role of working with a dog during hunting.

Hunting also for minors

Another important aspect is the removal of barriers to the participation of minors in hunting: according to a survey conducted by researchers, more than half of respondents stated that the lack of such an opportunity discourages them from going hunting:

“This level of response surprised even the creators of the survey. It seems that, given the above, this ban may not only directly affect the fight against ASF in Poland, but also the entire hunting economy. This concerns the signaled lack of support for generational exchange in the hunters’ community, but also limits farmers’ opportunities to effectively protect their crops,” we read.

Regulations need to be standardized:

Other conclusions formulated by experts are related to the need to:

• ·organizing the functioning of basic units responsible for hunting management – including: by defining clear rules for acquiring and losing membership in hunting clubs, eliminating the elements of discretion in the process of considering applications, standardizing access to hunting;
• introducing legal protection for people engaged in hunting activities – as activities of multidimensional, positive importance for the public interest;
• defining detailed rules and conditions for carrying out reduction and sanitary shootings;
• adapting the regulation on detailed conditions for hunting to contemporary environmental and shooting realities (allowing bow hunting, the possibility of registering handguns and rimfire weapons by hunters, allowing optoelectronics for hunting during the day, etc.);
• abolition of unnecessary and ineffective regulations related to ASF that limit or hinder hunting.

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