The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation has allowed to shoot up to 30% of the bear population: will this help to solve the problem?
Unfortunately, the sad bearish statistics are growing. The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources reports: from the beginning of the year to mid-November, 36 people died in the country from bear attacks, which is several times higher than the number of deaths in previous years (8 in 2024, 7 in 2025). In total, since January, 87 cases were officially recorded in which a person had to fight off an angry predator, and more than 12 thousand complaints about brown bears coming out to people.
Recently, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources set a shooting standard of 30% of the number of bears in each area.
This will make it possible to more effectively regulate the number of brown bears and reduce the number of conflict situations between the predator and humans, the department promises.
However, according to experts, at least two additional mechanisms are required to capture this third. The first and most important thing is to turn the bear into demand: simplify the export of derivatives (nails, bile, meat, skins), removing the CITES bureaucratic barriers. The second mechanism is increasing demand, and for this it is necessary to support hunting users in the purchase and sale of meat products.
However, regulating numbers is only half the battle. Prevention is just as important: if a bear does not have access to food, it does not go to people.