On 14–15 November, the FACE Baltic States Hunter Associations Forum took place, where current trends, problems and possible solutions were discussed.

The European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) represents 7 million European hunters; the organisation's primary focus is representing the interests of hunters in the European Parliament and the European Commission. In Riga, FACE was represented by its Secretary General, David Scallan, who provided information on various significant developments in the corridors of Brussels.

Approximately 80% of decisions made in Brussels regarding hunting, nature conservation, the circulation of firearms and other issues directly impact hunters at the national level. One of the most pressing topics remains the management of large carnivores. David Scallan explained that on 15 November, FACE addressed an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling on her to take active measures to address wolf-related problems throughout the EU.

Another significant topic is the total ban on lead ammunition. Although all reports and proposals have now been submitted to the European Commission, progress on this issue has stalled due to the war in Ukraine, as hunters are to be denied the use of lead ammunition, while no such restrictions are planned for the military. Discussions were also held on African swine fever, migratory bird populations, and other current matters.

Estonian Hunters' Society representative Tõnis Korts spoke about a new hunting app introduced in Estonia, which allows for the cancelling of hunting permits, reporting observations, and tracking one's location. Now, 80% of hunters choose to use this app. The main goal is to eliminate the need to fill out permits and reports in paper format. Estonian hunters emphasise that it is important for them to ensure hunters comply with the law and that hunting is a transparent process, which the use of the app provides.

Lithuanian hunter representatives spoke about their efforts to allow the use of night vision and thermal devices for hunting. As recently as last year, they were considered as dangerous as tanks and artillery. Currently, it has been achieved that a hunter can purchase such a device, yet the struggle continues in the Seimas of Lithuania to legalise these devices with certain restrictions.

Mārtiņš Sēržans, Senior Expert at the Food and Veterinary Service, spoke about the possibilities of stopping the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in Latvia and other countries. He noted that there is currently no reason to hope for a vaccine, which is still in the development process. He called on hunters to be more actively involved in combating ASF, pointing out that the wild boar population must be significantly reduced to provide a chance to completely halt this disease in the coming years. However, there are still many problems that need to be solved. The main one is the motivation of hunters to participate more actively in fighting the fever.

LATMA Chairman of the Board Haralds Barviks pointed out that such forums are important for learning new things and strengthening cooperation between the hunter associations of the Baltic states. The problems in different countries are similar, while the solutions differ, so this is an opportunity to learn something. This may be useful for us later on.