The general idea about hunting is mostly about taking life away, legal ownership of guns, a bizarre hobby or an outdated way to demonstrate manhood. For a certain category of Bulgarians however hunting is associated with being together with friends, a way to come into touch with nature, forget one's problems and even one's partner. No wonder then that at the start of the hunting season thousands of men in Bulgaria rejoice in anticipation of new hunting exploits. This year it opens on 13 August, Saturday.

Apart from positive emotions, an escape from everyday routines and high adrenalin, to go out hunting also implies care for the forest and wild game. Every year Bulgarian hunters invest both effort and money in feeding wild animals and take part in fire-fighting to save hundreds of acres of forests. Every spring they organize forestation in different regions of the country. Many forests, which we are proud of today, have been actually created by Bulgarian hunters.

In figures released by the National Association of Hunting & Angling, more than 120,000 practice their legal hunting rights in Bulgaria. Thanks to their environmental protection activity game populations have retained their strength and diversity. Some species have even increased their populations in the past 4 to 5 years.

More from the president of the Managing Board of the National Association of Hunting &Angling “Union of Hunters and Anglers in Bulgaria” Ivan Petkov:

“Growth in populations ranges from 4 to 10 percent for different game species. The boar which is a leading target for hunting has preserved its population's strength, especially in its typical habitats. Its population is particularly numerous in the central Balkan Range - the region near the towns of Lovech, Troyan, Sevlievo and Veliko Tarnovo. The numbers of local small game are also within their natural limits due to the National Program for Sustainable Development of Game Resources, which has been operated by the national organization for 11 years. This also applies to the partridge in Southern Bulgaria as well as to the pheasant in Northern Bulgaria. Despite difficult times, hunters have been doing their best to maintain a healthy balance for the main wild game species.”

The Bulgarian hunters do not receive any state subsidies and do not have access to European financing either. Still, the Union of Hunters invests close to 4 million euro annually in Bulgarian nature. Money is spent for the displacement of the common pheasant, the partridge, the chukar and the semi-wild mallard, the total of 150,000 to 200,000 birds. In this sense, hunting is not only a nice outing but above all an act of responsibility for the protection of nature and populations.

What are the problems hunters are faced with? One of them is poaching, which they have been struggling with for years. In many areas the people who break the law are known, but their names remain undisclosed. The state has abdicated from these problems and its checks whether hunters hold proper licenses are hardly enough. Another problem is catching live game far from free territories in traps and displacing captured animals into private farms where they are literally shot down by pseudo hunters. This has prompted thousands of hunters to block the center of Sofia last year. They demanded measures to put an end to the ruthless exploitation of wild nature. 

This autumn amendments are expected to be passed in parliament for stricter regulation of hunting rights. It is also important to make sure there is secure protection of wild game and clear rules in setting the boundaries of hunting areas. Ivan Petkov's message to Bulgarian hunters is as follows:

“I wish all hunters in Bulgaria to keep in their hearts love for nature and its wild game wealth because it has been bestowed to us by our forefathers. For 118 years now the national organization has been following traditions and has been doing its best to make sure that this wealth will be preserved for posterity.”

English Daniela Konstantinova