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The topic of today's lecture is hunting management 
systems and their importance in obtaining

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extremely organic food. The lecture is part of 
Module 4: Precision Livestock Farming, which is

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part of the ISAGREED project. This presentation 
was supported by Erasmus+ KA2 Cooperation

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Partnerships Grant "Innovation of the content 
and structure of study programmes in the field

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of management of animal genetic and 
food resources using digitalization".

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In today's lecture, information will be given in 
the introduction about the development of hunting,

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hunting management in Slovakia in the conditions 
of state and military forests, where the right

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to hunt is part of the profession of foresters 
employed in the forests under their management,

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as well as the conditions of hunting management 
at the level of hunting associations,

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which represent the voluntary organized 
activities of associations, clubs and societies

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associated in the Slovak Hunting Chamber 
with long-lasting tradition. The role and

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expertise of the hunting manager and his/her 
position in relation to the existing legislation

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will be defined, and information will be given 
on the most important game species in Slovakia.

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Game hunting is as old as mankind 
itself. It was part of the livelihood

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of emerging prehistoric man as 
well as later social formations.

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It was a driving force in the development 
of human activities, a school of courage and

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bravery. Very soon hunting 
became the prerogative of kings,

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an expression of power and wealth, and even 
at the beginning of the 20th century it was

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almost exclusively the preserve of certain 
privileged noble families. As the social and

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class composition of society changed, so did the 
view of wildlife and hunting, and the important

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function of management in protecting the game 
and its environment was particularly emphasised.

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At the beginning, it is necessary to define 
hunting and the position of hunting in society.

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Hunting is a set of activities aimed 
at preserving, improving, protecting,

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and making optimal use of the game gene pool 
as a natural asset of the EU. It is part of the

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creation, protection, and use of the environment 
and, while respecting its guiding principles,

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should not interfere with the rational management 
of forest and agricultural land. In addition to

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providing funding for nature conservation, hunters 
play an important role in assisting government

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bodies and biologists involved in managing the 
population sizes of certain animal species.

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Regulated hunting is one of the most effective 
tools that state conservation authorities can

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use to address the overpopulation of a 
species. In Slovakia, hunting management

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can be categorised into two parts. On the one 
hand, there are professional hunters in the form

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of foresters, who are in charge of the Slovak 
Forests or the Military Forests of the Slovak

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Republic, who carry out hunting as a professional 
activity, very often with a commercial result.

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On the other hand, a large part 
of the hunting public exists in

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the form of voluntary hunters who are 
associated with a hunting chamber and

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are organised in various associations, 
clubs, or societies. Every hunting

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ground must have an appointed hunting 
manager. Later we will learn about his roles,

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competencies, and duties in relation to hunting 
management and the government authorities.

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The hunting manager usually models population 
growth and based on field research and collected

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data, sets management rules, which may 
include season length or hunting quotas.

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Once these regulations are in place, 
hunting managers monitor the population,

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conducting ongoing surveys and adjusting 
future management decisions based on the data.

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The user of the hunting area is obliged to 
propose to the regional hunting authority

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a hunting manager to ensure professional 
hunting management in the hunting area.

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It does not matter whether it is a hunting 
ground managed by the Slovak Forests or the

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Military Forest of SR as professional hunters, 
every hunting ground must have an appointed

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professional hunting manager, and all associations 
and clubs that use a hunting ground must have an

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appointed hunting manager as well. Let's take 
a look at the tasks of a hunting manager.

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Hunting manager: is legally competent, 
has a valid hunting licence and has held

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a hunting licence for at least five consecutive 
years, has a valid Group D firearms licence,

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has passed the hunting manager's examination or 
a higher vocational hunting examination or is

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a graduate of a secondary forestry school or a 
graduate of a university at which hunting is a

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compulsory subject and has passed an examination 
in that subject, has not committed a hunting

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offence in the last five years, is not a hunting 
manager in another hunting ground/club/society.

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As I have said before, every hunting ground 
whether private or public, whether professional,

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commercial or otherwise, must have an appointed 
hunting manager. There are a number of ways

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of obtaining an examination or authorisation to 
act as a professional hunting manager under (d).

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It is possible to apply to the district 
authority, the Department of Land and Forestry

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for an examination, whereby an examination board 
is set up in cooperation with the hunting chamber

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and, after completing the prescribed amount of 
theoretical training, the examination is passed,

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this examination being of the level of a higher 
professional examination sufficient for the

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performance of the function of a professional 
hunting manager. The other alternative is to

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graduate from a secondary forestry school 
where hunting is a compulsory subject or

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from a university where hunting is taught. 
The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

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is one of the universities in Slovakia 
where hunting is a compulsory subject

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in the study programmes Special Breeding 
(Bc.) and Special Breeding Branches (MSc.).

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After completing the subject in the prescribed 
range of theoretical and practical parts, after

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completing the theoretical training and practical 
shooting, students are issued diplomas, which are

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worth higher professional examination and thus 
they can perform as professional hunting managers.

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Let's take a closer look at 
the roles of a hunting manager.

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He is the key person in the field of hunting. As 
we have already said, each hunting ground has an

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appointed professional hunting manager, and he 
can not carry out this activity in more than

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one ground. He has extensive competencies, 
but even more responsibilities and work.

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He is responsible for the organisation: 
annual/seasonal animal census - spring

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and autumn in our conditions, drawing 
up a draft breeding and hunting plan,

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the allocation of individual hunting licences 
in the particular hunting area, entitling them

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to hunt, ensuring that shooting is carried out, 
checking that members of the hunting association

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are disciplined when hunting and that 
they comply not only with the law but

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also with ethical principles, the procurement 
of seeds and seedlings and the cultivation of

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fields, the preparation of fodder in general 
for the emergency period, mowing meadows,

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preparing roughage, grain and other feed (roots) 
for periods of lack of natural feed sources,

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keeping records of hunted game, venison, 
services for hunting guests and their guiding,

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plans and organises the construction of 
hunting facilities (feeders, feeding troughs,

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salt pans and hunting equipment, various seats 
and sitting areas), organises collective hunts,

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is responsible for implementing the 
guidelines of the Forestry Authority and

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the State Veterinary and Food Administration, 
submit trophies for the annual inspection,

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combats poaching and protects game 
animals,controls animals harmful to hunting.

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Very often conflicts and disagreements arise 
in the field of professional hunting management

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due to lack of professional knowledge 
and ignorance of the legislation,

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which are more frequent in private or leased 
hunting grounds that are used commercially.

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Owners and users (lessees) of hunting land 
often interfere in the activities of the

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hunitng manager due to their position. They 
relegate him to the role of a statutory officer

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whose task is to keep hunting records so 
that everything is in order 'on paper.

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The owners or users of many hunting grounds 
are solvent and influential people who are

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engaged in various business activities and 
are certainly experts in their profession.

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It is logical that one cannot be an 
expert in all fields and the activity

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of a hunting manager is a very specialised 
job that requires a "master of his craft"

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and an expert in hunting and regulations, 
as well as in nature and the environment.

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Therefore, interfering in the tasks and 
competencies of a hunting manager is out

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of place. The regulations and rules in 
hunting management are the results of

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decades of experience and tradition of previous 
generations of hunters and hunting managers.

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In hunting grounds with the best trophy game, 
where national or world records were achieved,

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the head of the hunting ground - the hunting 
manager, was always a top expert, a strong

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personality whose principles and rules of breeding 
were accepted by all. Otherwise, it is impossible

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to achieve the breeding goals, to maintain 
the game population in the optimal age and sex

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structure and to ensure the permanent production 
of strong trophies. I dare add that without

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the professional activity of the game manager 
and intervention in the population structure,

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it is not possible to maintain game populations at 
sustainable sizes, especially in terms of numbers.

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Let's take a closer look at the differences 
in hunting management. On the one hand,

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we have professional hunters. Professional 
hunting is operated in the State Forests and

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the Military Forests of the Slovak Republic under 
the management of the respective Ministry. State

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hunting grounds in the administration of 
the State Forests under the administration

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of individual enterprises (units), 
have appointed hunting managers who

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manage the execute of hunting rights in 
these grounds or lease hunting areas to

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private persons or companies which execute the 
hunting right on the basis of a lease agreement.

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In addition, there are designated or reserved 
hunting grounds which are used for educational

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and research purposes. They are affiliated 
with educational and research institutions.

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The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra also 
has 2 reserved hunting grounds which are used for

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educational and research purposes. Of course, they 
are used for practical training of hunting adepts.

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Overview of numbers and development of 
population structure of the most important

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game species according to official statistics of 
hunting planning and hunting reports in Slovakia.

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Red Deer - Cervus Elaphus
According to reports from

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the 2020/2021 hunting season, 70,380 
individuals were reported in Slovakia,

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which represents a decrease of 551 
individuals compared to the previous year.

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In 2021, according to reports from hunting 
farmers in Slovakia, 49,558 deer were hunted,

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which is 3,506 more than in 2020. In addition, 
76 deer were captured, and 4 349 deer

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died by accident. The total 
decline was therefore 53 983

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deer. Even in the context of the well-known fact 
that game populations are on an upward trend, we

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can see that there is also an almost 10% increase 
in hunting in terms of hunting management.

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Fallow deer - Dama dama
2020/2021

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23,877 individuals (+ 1,453). A 
total of 23,024 fallow deer (4,779

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more than in 2020) were recorded in the hunt. In

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addition, the capture of 123 and the 
mortality of 1,049 fallow deer were

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recorded. The total decrease of fallow deer was 
24 196 deer (+ 5 016 deer compared to 2020).

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Woodland mouflon - Ovis musimon
A recorded population of 14,097 individuals, which

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is 639 more than in 2020. In 2021, the reported 
harvest of mouflon was 6,715 individuals, which

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is 510 more than in 2020. In the long term, we 
have a problem with the decline of the non-trophy

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(females and young) in the forest mouflon, mainly 
due to the lack of interest of hunters in hunting,

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but we also register in the hunting associations 
that the age structure is not sufficient because

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we have few individuals at an old age.
Roe deer - Capreolus capreolus

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In the case of roe deer, which is the most 
numerous game species in Slovakia, the registered

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number is 104 811 individuals. The reported 
hunting of roe deer was 25 889. In the case

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of roe deer in Slovakia, we distinguish between 
the so-called field and forest populations.

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Wild boar - Sus scrofa
36,761 individuals were recorded (2,504 fewer

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than in 2020). The reported hunting was 58,186 
individuals, 1,470 fewer than the previous year.

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In the case of wild boar, it should be noted that 
this intensive hunting is also due to the African

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swine fever epidemic, which in the context of the 
current regulations of the Regional Veterinary and

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Food Administration has been ordered, where we 
hunt wild boar of all ages and sexes all year

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round without restriction in order to prevent the 
transmission of the disease to domestic breeding.

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In the case of small game hunting for 
field hares, 165 354 hare were reported

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and the population increased by 8 333 
individuals compared to the previous

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year. In the 2021/2022 hunting season, 14 525 
hunted and 39 captured hares were reported.

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Again, trapping has a long tradition 
in Slovakia but during the pandemic,

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these joint actions were not carried out, 
hence the low hare capture in 2020/21.

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Brown bear - Ursus Arctos
In 2021, 2 997 (+237) brown bears

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were reported from the level of individual 
hunting grounds. Based on the reports,

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6 individuals were shot (based on a request for a 
problem individual exemption.), and 48 individuals

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were culled (carcasses, mortalities and 
individuals that came into conflict with traffic).

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For comparison, 835 brown 
bears were reported in 1990.

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Dragon wolf - Canis Lupus
In 2021, a total of 3,291 wolves were

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recorded. No hunting was carried out because the 
wolf has become a protected carnivore year-round.

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24 deaths based on reports. In the past, a hunting 
quota of 50 wolves per season was allowed, and in

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recent years this quota has not been met.
Lynx lynx

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The count of 804 lynx in 2021 is 81 more than the 
previous year. The lynx is currently classified

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as a strictly protected animal. Slovakia is in 
a consortium of countries that are implementing

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lynx reintroduction in the Alpine regions of 
Switzerland and other Western European countries.

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Briefly on the legal regulation of hunting 
management in Slovakia or the management

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of hunting by the Ministry of Agriculture of the 
Slovak Republic resp. Ministry of Environment of

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the Slovak Republic. State authority at the county 
level - county land and forest office - hunting

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department and subsequently district 
authorities - Department of Land and Forestry,

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State administration and management in the field 
of hunting management is delegated to these,

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e.g.: register of lease/ownership of hunting 
grounds, approval of annual game censuses,

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approval of breeding and hunting plans, 
approval of hunting pheasant/ game hides,

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cooperation with the State Veterinary 
and Food Administration in the field

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of food safety and protection. In 
the following courses and modules,

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you will certainly get further information 
concerning animal genetic and food resources

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in the European Union, as hunting and game are 
also part of the national wealth and cultural

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heritage and contribute to the diversity of food 
resources and the nutrition of the population.

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Thank you for your attention and I look 
forward to the next time. See you soon.