Authorities announced on Monday that 305 bears will be killed this year during the annual bear hunt across Sweden, roughly one tenth of the total population.


The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency - EPA (Naturvårdsverket) said on Monday that Sweden's brown bears will be culled by roughly ten percent to keep the population at around 3,000, in line with the culls of previous years.

"It's partly for the hunters who use the skin and meat, but also to control the numbers and avoid the damages caused by the bears in urban areas," Per Risberg, desk officer at the EPA, told The Local.

He added that a large bear population increases the risk of damages to reindeer and sheep herds, particularly in the northern reaches of Sweden.

The hunt will mostly take place in central Sweden around Dalarna, throughout Gävleborg County, and into Värmland, Risberg explained.

Brown bears, he added, pose no real threat to humans.

"In the last 30 to 40 years, there have only been two fatalities due to bear attacks. Of course, there are attacks almost every year, but these are mostly minor and mostly hunting related, mainly due to the involvement of hunting dogs."

The bears will be professionally hunted in the period between August 21st and October 15th.


http://www.thelocal.se/49196/20130722/