We are used to walking in Norwegian nature and hardly seeing any wild animals. It doesn’t have to be that way. Black grouse, grouse, black duck and hare are examples of species that fall under the term “huntable game” in Norway. You rarely see them, and when you do it’s from a long distance. We have beautiful nature, but there is little wildlife to see, compared to African national parks, where you can see more mammals in one day than you can in a lifetime in Norway. There you see at least ten chickens an hour, and birds of prey constantly fly over one, or are seen sitting in trees. Outside the national parks, you don’t see much more game in Africa than in Norway. With us, even the national parks are like empty backdrops. In a study from South Africa, it is estimated that game farms can produce over 300 kg of game meat per square kilometre, while Norwegian forests barely reach 100 kg. The fact that ecosystems are three to four times as productive in tropical countries still does not explain the enormous difference in the number of animals seen. Hunting for deer game is necessary and provides a good food yield. Unwanted species, such as mink, Canada goose and wild boar, must be limited. It may also be necessary to reduce the number of red foxes to protect endangered species. It is something completely different with hares, squirrels, beavers and the “huntable” bird species. This hunting is unnecessary in nature management. The food yield is so modest that hunting must be considered pure recreation, and not “harvesting” as the hunters try to call it. In a peak year at the beginning of the 20th century, a hunter could get over 30 grouse a day, but now each grouse hunter gets an average of three grouse per year. We do not know why the small game populations have declined so drastically, but hunting may be contributing. The breeding population of black grouse is on average 150-200,000 pairs, and more than 100,000 are shot per year. Research shows that in a bad year it will exceed the next year’s stock. When you introduce a hunting ban after overtaxation, you see that the stocks quickly recover. There is no data on how a long-term ban on hunting in a large area would work in Norwegian nature, because it has not been tried. There are no large areas in Norway or Sweden where small game hunting is not carried out. But one must assume that the same thing will happen as in Africa: Where you stop hunting the game, the animals will eventually stop being afraid of people. We can see it at Østensjøvannet in Oslo, where all hunting has been banned since 1992, that very shy species such as coot and coot are no longer afraid of humans. The ring dove, which was shy in the 1960s, can now be seen up close in parks everywhere. Even if the grouse population barely survives the hunt, the removal has consequences for peregrine falcons and golden eagles, which eat grouse, and for arctic foxes, barn owls and snowy owls, which eat grouse chicks. This is also the case in the forests, where the goshawk competes with humans for the hens. Small game hunting prevents us from seeing birds of prey. It should have been part of our experience by walking in Norwegian mountains and forests. Lead shot has again been banned. Some hunters clearly want a rematch on this. Before the ban, Norwegian hunters spread 170 tonnes of lead in nature every year. Injuries are much more common than many people think: a study showed that half of grouse that had died from flying on power lines had hail in their bodies. We know from foreign data that birds of prey are easily poisoned by eating game with lead shot. There have been no investigations into the lead content of dead birds of prey in Norway. Hunters can also be injured for accidentally shooting red-listed species, such as pygmy goose (critically endangered) and snipe (near threatened). Research shows that grouse are much more afraid of people in areas where hunting takes place than where hunting has been temporarily stopped. Where they are hunted, they try to hide in dense vegetation, so that they are not seen. Less than 1.5 percent of the population in Norway are registered small game hunters. I would argue that this small proportion ruins the nature experience for the rest of us, and damages biodiversity. It is absurd that small game hunting is allowed in Norwegian national parks. There is also no reason why it should be legal to hunt small game in state commons. We should learn from the African national parks, and not just have nature that is a beautiful backdrop without visible wildlife. Then in a few decades we will be able to see hares and grouse grazing peacefully by the footpath or outside the cabin wall, and see grouse playing at close range without disturbing the birds. Perhaps it will become common to see birds of prey when we go for walks. A ban on unnecessary hunting would be a knowledge-based, effective and free measure for better nature experiences and a healthier nature.
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Stop unnecessary hunting – Speech
