On news Ytring, doctor and zoologist Gunnar Hasle writes in a chronicle that it is absurd that it is allowed to hunt small game in Norwegian national parks. The Norwegian Hunter and Fishermen’s Association (NJFF) believes, on the contrary, that being able to hunt small game, also in the national parks, is the result of a healthy and knowledgeable way of living in harmony with nature. The grouse can withstand hunting Grouse lays many eggs, usually 10-12 each year. In this way, a large degree of natural mortality is taken into account. It is a strategy for survival. Every year, over one million grouse eggs are produced in Norwegian forests and mountains. Many of these eggs never hatch, and not all that hatch grow up to become adult birds. Many die from bad weather, a lack of insects in the important chick phase or disease, while others are eaten by foxes, martens, common harriers, goshawks or crows. In Norway, we have a very important and good starting point for hunting: All animals and birds are protected. The fact that the authorities only open up hunting for those species that can withstand being harvested from the stocks gives us the best starting point for not overtaxing nature. This is how we know that no hunters are going to shoot the last grouse. Far from. Hunting for a surplus Every August, thousands of volunteers are out surveying grouse populations in the various mountain areas. It is all carefully organized and the methodology is based on the best possible knowledge. In this way, you get a good overview of the year’s state of the grouse populations, and based on this knowledge, licensees can set quotas for grouse hunting in the same autumn. Statskog, which is the country’s largest landowner, chose not to open grouse hunting over large parts of southern Norway this year, because grouse populations were weak this year. It is applauded by the hunters. We therefore only harvest the surplus that nature is able to produce. Being able to use nature like this is a wonderful gift. That we can get our own food, whether it’s picking mushrooms and berries or being able to fish and hunt, is a value that should not only be measured in kroner and øre. Yes, hunting is also business. Some people make good money selling hunting rights. But we therefore source 22 million dinners each year with natural and packaging-free meat that is not processed in any way. With hunting comes recreation and improved public health, and not least a strong commitment to preserving animals and nature. Man has his place in nature Norwegian hunters have deep respect for nature’s composition, and great knowledge of how the ecological interaction takes place. We hunters use nature, but we do not consume it. Nor do we displace the animals by hunting. The fact that we do not see many wild animals on our Sunday walks does not mean that they are not present. Both grouse and grouse are well camouflaged and will instinctively press down into the heather when they hear someone approaching. NJFF does not think that it should be a goal that wild animals should get used to people just because we want to “experience them”. NJFF’s basic view is that man is nature, nature is also man, and man has his natural place in this interaction. We must not lift our species out of nature and become passive observers from the outside. We must understand, respect, take care of and be able to use nature in a way that does not threaten animals, birds, fish, plants or ourselves. Read the chronicle:
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Boom shots about hunting – Expression
