From 1 April 2023, an order from the State Forest Service comes into effect, establishing a new procedure for hunting wild boar. Hunters will be required to register culled wild boar in the mobile app "Mednis" using digital tag numbers.
Hunting regulations state that wild boar are a non-limited game species. However, due to the need to limit the spread of African swine fever, wild boar hunting must be conducted in a way that allows for the identification of every culled animal. Until now, identification was carried out using physical wild boar tags issued by the State Forest Service; however, from 1 April, physical tags will no longer be used, and every culled wild boar must be registered digitally.
In accordance with the State Forest Service order dated 27.03.2023, from 1 April for the 2023/2024 hunting season, hunters must register and submit information regarding culled wild boar to the State Forest Service using the "Mednis" mobile app. This app is compatible with the functionality of the State Forest Register and will ensure hunters meet the requirements for documenting wild boar hunting and information reporting. It is important to note that hunters will no longer need to complete and submit information on used wild boar hunting permits, commonly known as "Annex 3".
"From now on, before hunting wild boar, hunters must ensure their smartphone is charged, mobile data is enabled, and the hunting section is available in the 'Mednis' app. After culling or wounding a wild boar, the fact must be registered immediately in the 'Mednis' app, which will send the information to the State Forest Service," explains Valters Lūsis, Head of the Hunting Division at the State Forest Service, noting that the hunting section will be technically enabled in the app on 31 March.
The "Mednis" app is available free of charge for both Android and Apple iOS devices and can be downloaded just like any other mobile application. If any complications or questions arise regarding the "Mednis" app, hunters may contact the service via email at atbalsts@vmd.gov.lv.
What to do after culling a wild boar
Once a wild boar has been culled, the hunter must proceed as follows on the spot, without moving the animal:
1. Open the "Mednis" mobile app and register the gender and age of the culled wild boar. Take a photo showing the head of the wild boar from a top/side projection and press "Submit".
If an internet connection is unavailable at the moment of submission, there is no need to worry – once the connection is restored, "Mednis" will send all entered information to the State Forest Service. After the hunt, ensure that the registered information about the culled wild boar has been successfully sent. This can be viewed in the user profile under submitted items (submitted information) with the status "Sent". If, due to a technical error, the information was not sent, you should attempt to send it again from the submitted items section in the "Mednis" app. This must be done by the hunter within 24 hours of registering the fact that the wild boar was culled.
2. After successfully sending the registered information, the hunter will receive a digital licence number for the culled wild boar. This is visible in the "Mednis" user profile under the submitted information for culled wild boar. This number is used to mark the body of the culled wild boar until the laboratory test results for blood samples are received from the Food and Veterinary Service.
What to do after wounding a wild boar
If a wild boar is wounded, it must be registered in "Mednis" at the location of the wounding, and "Submit" must be pressed. Thereafter, in accordance with hunting regulations, tracking the wounded wild boar is permitted. The registered wounded wild boar will appear in the "wounded animals" section of "Mednis". If the wounded wild boar is culled, select the relevant entry in "Mednis" and register it as a culled wild boar. If the wounded wild boar is not culled, ensure that the information about the wounded animal has been submitted to the State Forest Service – this can be verified in the registration of submitted information in "Mednis". In case of error, the information about the wounded wild boar must be resubmitted within 24 hours, just as with information regarding a culled wild boar.
Information about the culled wild boar
Information registered by the hunter about a culled wild boar in the "Mednis" app replaces the physical marking of the wild boar's body, and the licence number received after sending the registered data in the "Mednis" app confirms the submission of information on the used permit to the State Forest Service. Thus, the so-called "Annex 3" for culled wild boar will no longer need to be submitted.
If a hunting supervisory and control official requests information about a culled wild boar, it will be sufficient for the hunter to show the information registered in the "Mednis" app; additional body identification markings for the culled wild boar will not be mandatory.
If a hunter, for any reason, cannot register the culled wild boar in the "Mednis" app, this can be done on their behalf by a representative of the hunting rights holder who has been granted rights in the State Forest Register to manage members of the hunting area in the "Mednis" app. However, in such a case, the hunter who culled the wild boar must be a member of the specific hunting area's hunting rights holder (the addition of members is carried out by the representative designated by the hunting rights holder).