By shooting at least three wolves, the hunters were supposed to have violated the hunting law, which stipulates the conditions for hunting wolves during the night. This was pointed out by conservationists from the We are the forest initiative, saying that in one case a high-ranking official was also supposed to shoot Slovak Hunting Chamber (SPK). She claims that the hunt took place in accordance with the law, but two cases are referred to disciplinary authorities.
- Conservationists accused hunters of breaking the law when shooting wolves.
- Wolf hunting is permitted by law only under specific night conditions.
- SPK claims that the shooting took place in accordance with the law and rules.
- The case involves the shooting of wolves near the village of Prakovce in the Volovské vrchy.
- The discussion focused on public control and transparency of hunting activities.
Conservationists from We are the forest remind that according to the law on hunting, wolf hunting is possible only during the day and on clear lunar nights, that is, on the day of the full moon, as well as three nights before it and three nights after it. Otherwise, hunters can hunt game at night only two hours after sunset and two hours before sunrise.
“By analyzing the wolf’s shots, we found that at least three individuals were probably shot in violation of the hunting law. A high official of SPK also shot at the wolf at night. He shot him at a time when the law forbids it,” explained Marián Hletko for the initiative.
According to My sme les, the shooting in question took place on September 28 at 9:01 p.m. near the village of Prakovce in Volovské vrchy in the hunting grounds of the state enterprise Lesy SR. According to conservationists, the shooting of the wolf should have taken place more than two hours after sunset and outside the period of the full moon.
In its response, SPK rejected the initiative’s claims and claims that the hunt took place in accordance with the law, the disciplinary order and the hunting wolf quota. According to the statement of the chamber, the hunter and SPK official hunted near Prakovci as a hunting guest accompanied by an authorized hunting guide.
“According to our information, the hunt itself took place already at 7:00 p.m., 20 minutes after sunset, and subsequently at 9:01 p.m. the hunted individual was inspected by authorized professionally qualified persons and a report on the capture of a ravenous wolf was made,” the chamber argues that the difference in time data is solely related to the administrative procedures after reporting the hunt. “The fact that an authorized employee of the state administration did not make a complete record of the hunting of a predatory wolf as stated in the header of the form, that is, that he did not specify the time of capture and the time of inspection, is not a mistake, and therefore neither a misdemeanor nor a disciplinary offense of a successful wolf hunter.” SPK added.
The chamber also confirmed that in addition to the case of shooting by SPK officials, in connection with the hunting of a predatory wolf, it also received suggestions for two other persons. Both are forwarded to the relevant local disciplinary bodies of their organizational units.
The We sme les initiative stated that it was based on the official record when submitting the initiative about shooting a wolf to SPK officials. “He signed this official record, and thus the shooter himself agreed. A month later, the SPK insists that this is not the time of hunting, but the time of inspection of the killed wolf. However, this statement is questionable, as the inspection report was filled out and signed only the day after the alleged inspection,” added the conservationists. They also remind that the Department of Agriculture allowed the shooting of 74 wolves this hunting season. However, according to the initiative, public control over shooting is made impossible by the State Nature Protection or the Administration of the Nízke Tatry National Park.
“Both organizations refuse to make available the GPS coordinates of the locations where the shooting of wolves took place. This prevents us from checking and opens the question of whether the shooting of wolves also takes place in territories that have been declared for the purpose of their protection, or in zones where wolf hunting is prohibited, or in their immediate vicinity,” stated Katarína Butkovská from WWF Slovakia.
