Court invalidates four of five bear-hunting permits

A Tallinn Administrative Court has ruled that four of five permits to hunt brown bears were unlawful, ERR reported.

The Environmental Board issued the permits on October 3 last year, authorising the killing of five bears in five areas to prevent damage. It said bears had destroyed six beehives and 37 silage bales and killed at least 27 sheep between June and October. Bears had also repeatedly raided a cemetery in the Kivinõmme hunting area and damaged crops.

The court partly upheld a complaint by the Estonian NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad, finding that the permits met legal requirements in only one of the five areas.

Brown bears are strictly protected under the Habitats Directive, the court said, and may be killed only in exceptional circumstances. The Environmental Board must use reliable scientific information to show that a hunting permit is suitable for its purpose, such as protecting people or property, and that no satisfactory alternative exists.

The court found significant shortcomings in the documentation and reasoning for four permits. The Board had not properly demonstrated that effective alternative measures to protect people and property were unavailable. During the proceedings, the Board acknowledged that it had not analysed possible alternatives in detail or documented their alleged use in several areas.

In the area where the permit met legal requirements, bears killed at least 27 sheep in five attacks and raided one beehive. Measures had been taken to prevent attacks, including electric fences around apiaries and sheep, keeping livestock indoors overnight and using guard dogs at some farms.

The court said not every possible measure needs to be tried before a hunting exception is granted. However, authorities must use objective evidence to explain why apparently suitable measures were not used or would not work. Evidence of damage alone does not prove that stronger or other non-lethal measures could not prevent or reduce it. The Board, not the complainant or another party, must establish that no satisfactory alternative exists.

An appeal may be filed with the Tallinn Circuit Court by December 7.