To the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia
Armands Krauze

On the management of the red deer population

Latvia's hunting organisations call for an assessment of the possible effects on the management of the red deer population should the current population regulation arrangements be changed.

Hunting has long ceased to be merely a pastime for one section of society; it also performs functions that matter to society as a whole. Without numerical regulation of game animal populations, profitable agriculture and forestry would not be possible in Latvia today. Hunters are the only ones who can help reduce ungulate numbers, thereby helping to limit damage to forest and field crops and lessening the negative impact on these sectors of the economy.

We believe that in advancing a change as serious as adding a species to the list of animals that may be hunted without limit, one should be able to answer a single question: why is this necessary, and will such a decision really solve the problem at hand? As we understand it, in the case of red deer the problem is locally excessive damage caused by red deer. This problem occurs mainly in Kurzeme and Zemgale, that is, in the Kurzeme and Centra regional forestry districts of the State Forest Service (VMD).

The solution proposed for reducing the extent of the damage is to include red deer hinds and calves in the category of animals that may be hunted without limit.

In the 2023/24 hunting season, the Kurzeme regional forestry district took 83.1% and the Centra regional forestry district 77.9% of the permitted red deer cull, or 17140 red deer. In these two districts alone, 4044 red deer hunting permits went unused. In the 2024/25 season, meanwhile, the Kurzeme district took 96.5% and the Centra district 85.5% of the permitted red deer cull, or 20572 red deer. So in that hunting season not only did the fulfilment of the quota improve considerably, but the size of the cull also rose substantially. Even so, 1691 red deer hunting permits still went unused. This was achieved through explanatory work with hunters and by encouraging cooperation between hunters and landowners. In the previous hunting season the procedure was also changed by which holders of hunting rights can, where necessary, obtain additional permits to cull red deer hinds and calves. The VMD set the total available above-quota allocation for each regional forestry district at 10% of the overall quota. This was entirely sufficient to meet the demand for additional permits. At present, any situation in which a shortage of hunting permits might impede hunting has been fully eliminated. Consequently, moving red deer hinds and calves into the category of animals that may be hunted without limit will do nothing to encourage hunters to hunt more.

We believe that very considerable progress has now been made in reducing red deer numbers in the places where this is genuinely needed, while at the same time not wrecking the sex and age structure of the red deer population, which could in turn lead to even greater local damage. We likewise believe that the arrangement introduced in the previous hunting season, with the 10% above-quota permits, must be retained; these are available within a few days of the first request to any holder of hunting rights (MTL) entitled to hunt red deer. We have found that in certain cases there were problems with the distribution of hunting permits among holders of hunting rights who hunt on the basis of a cooperation agreement. To remedy this, we propose that above-quota permits be issued directly to the holders of hunting rights who have requested them, rather than to the cooperation agreement group.

We further call on the State Forest Service to again permit red deer hunting to begin on 1 July this year in places where this is necessary. We also ask that hunting of red deer stags under 1.5 years of age be allowed to begin at the same time as the hunting of red deer hinds. We are confident that red deer hunting results will continue to improve in this season too, and that the damage problem in the main “hotspots” will be eliminated or at least considerably reduced.

Decisions on whether or not to place a species under quota should be taken solely after careful assessment and the drawing up of a management plan for the species. Such a plan must set out not only the criteria for when a species may be designated as huntable without limit, but also the criteria determining when it is once again designated as subject to a quota. Given that no such assessment has taken place in respect of red deer, we categorically object to the inclusion of red deer hinds and calves in the list of animals that may be hunted without limit, as put forward by the Ministry of Agriculture.

We are ready to meet in person to discuss these matters once more and to agree on the best possible solution.

Yours sincerely

Juris Buškevics
Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Hunters' Union

Haralds Barviks
Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Hunters' Association