Estonia issues permit to hunt two bears that kept entering yards
Estonia's Environmental Board has issued a special permit to hunt two young bears in Järva County after they repeatedly entered home yards and lost their fear of people, likely due to being fed by residents.
Estonia's Environmental Board issued a special hunting permit on Thursday for two bears born last year that have repeatedly wandered into home yards in the Võõbu village area of Järva County. Despite repeated attempts to scare the animals back into the forest, they kept returning to settlements.
The roughly year-and-a-half-old bears show no fear of humans, which officials say could make them dangerous. Tanel Türna, head of the Environmental Board's hunting and aquatic wildlife department, called the bears' behavior extremely unusual, noting that during their most recent visit they did not even react to a rescue truck's siren.
Türna said bears of this age should normally have learned to avoid people, and it appears residents may have fed the animals, disrupting their natural behavior. Three bears have been spotted in the area in total, though one has returned to settlements less frequently. All standard deterrent methods have been tried repeatedly without success, showing the bears have developed a fixed pattern of behavior.
Officials stressed that nuisance-bear permits are issued only as a last resort. Zoos and wildlife parks have confirmed they cannot take in the animals. The Environmental Board urged people not to seek contact with wild animals and never to feed them, warning that doing so can cause bears to lose their fear of humans and their ability to survive independently — exactly what has happened in this case.
In April, Estonia's Climate Ministry changed hunting rules so bears can now only be hunted with a special permit from the Environmental Board, replacing the fixed hunting season. Including Thursday's decision, six bear-hunting permits have been issued so far this year.
Estonia's brown bear population has been growing since 2013 and is currently estimated at about 1,100, though the Estonian Hunters' Society estimates the true number closer to 1,500. Around 300 cubs are born annually, and the population could grow by as many as 200 bears a year. Hunters' Society adviser Marko Vinni said traditional bear hunting is now practically impossible, predicting fewer than ten of the usual 150 bears will be hunted this year.
