Review of hunting legislation and wildlife management

The plan says nothing about the hunting law's opening clause. The most relevant principle is that wildlife and nature should be managed on the basis of ecosystems' bearing capacity and biological diversity, with ambitious environmental goals and stable research as a foundation. To include reduced wildlife damage in agriculture and forestry as an explicit purpose shifts emphasis to business interests and lacks support in the plan.

• protect biological diversitydecisive»Vi måste lösa klimatkrisen och skydda den biologiska mångfalden – omställningen går alldeles för sakta.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must solve the climate crisis and protect biological diversity – the transition is going far too slowly.”
• conditions for rich ecosystems»Sverige behöver också ett medvetet och heltäckande arbete med att« (party programme ↗)“Sweden also needs a conscious and comprehensive effort to”
• ambitious environmental goals»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental goals that are followed up with strict legislation and practical work.”

The plan says nothing about the hunting act's gateway paragraph, but it requires a viable food production that strengthens self-sufficiency and an active forestry that contributes to growth. That wildlife damage in agriculture and forestry is explicitly written in as a purpose in the law is in line with these commitments. Since the plan simultaneously safeguards biological diversity and lacks a position on how the law is shaped, support is weak.

• viable food productiondecisive»Livskraftig svensk livsmedelsproduktion som stärker landets självförsörjningsförmåga.« (party programme ↗)“Viable Swedish food production that strengthens the country's self-sufficiency capacity.”
• active and sustainable forestry»Aktivt och hållbart skogsbruk som bidrar till svensk tillväxt och som samtidigt värnar« (party programme ↗)“Active and sustainable forestry that contributes to Swedish growth and that simultaneously safeguards”
• rural conditions»Landsbygdspolitik för utveckling och välstånd i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“Rural policy for development and prosperity throughout the country.”
• safeguarding biological diversity»Värn av biologisk mångfald och Sveriges värdefulla natur och vattenmiljöer.« (party programme ↗)“Safeguarding biological diversity and Sweden's valuable nature and water environments.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme says that hunting in certain situations can be justified to reduce or prevent damage that animals can cause, which is the purpose the counter-proposal wants to write into the law's preamble. At the same time, the plan conditions all hunting on good hunting ethics and the requirement that wildlife should have stronger legal protection, which the counter-proposal does not counteract. The evidence is thin, therefore low certainty.

• hunting against damage can be justifieddecisive»minska eller förebygga skador, som en del djur kan orsaka.« (party programme ↗)“reduce or prevent damage that some animals can cause.”
• good hunting ethics»All jakt ska bedrivas med god jaktetik. Miljöpartiet tar avstånd från jaktformer där djuren« (party programme ↗)“All hunting shall be conducted with good hunting ethics. The Green Party distances itself from hunting methods where the animals”
• protection for wildlife»rättsligt skydd som de djur som hålls av människan. Vi vill att viltlevande djur införlivas i« (party programme ↗)“legal protection as animals held by humans. We want wild animals incorporated in”
• viable populations»arter som hör hemma i Sveriges natur ska ges möjlighet att finnas här i långsiktigt« (party programme ↗)“species that belong to Swedish nature should be given the opportunity to exist here long-term”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires that protection of biological diversity be harmonized with rural population's opportunities to conduct activities without risking loss of animals and property, and combines this with active management of hoofed game. Agriculture's and green industries' competitiveness must be strengthened. That the hunting law's preamble explicitly must also aim at reduced wildlife damage follows directly from these commitments.

• protection against wildlife damagedecisive»möjligheter att leva och bedriva verksamheter utan att riskera förlust av djur och annan egendom« (party programme ↗)“opportunities to live and conduct activities without risking loss of animals and other property”
• active wildlife management»ska kombineras med en aktiv förvaltning av rovdjur och klövvilt« (party programme ↗)“must be combined with active management of predators and hoofed game”
• strengthened agriculture competitiveness»Det svenska lantbrukets konkurrenskraft, både inom EU och gentemot övriga världen, ska förstärkas.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish agriculture's competitiveness, both within the EU and against the rest of the world, must be strengthened.”
• green industries' competitiveness»Vi vill stärka de gröna näringarnas konkurrenskraft.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen green industries' competitiveness.”

The plan says nothing about the hunting law's preamble. The closest commitments are that forest policy shall be based on a production goal equal to the environmental goal, that forestry shall be protected and that the state shall cooperate with property owners in wildlife management. That the law explicitly shall also aim at reducing wildlife damage is in line with that, while the plan's species protection requirements shall remain.

• production goal equaldecisive»Den svenska skogspolitiken ska vila på två jämställda mål, produktionsmålet och miljömålet.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish forest policy shall be based on two equal goals, the production goal and the environmental goal.”
• cooperation with property owners»med markägare och lokalbefolkning i naturvård och viltförvaltning.« (party programme ↗)“with property owners and local communities in nature conservation and wildlife management.”
• protect forestry»Allemansrätten och det svenska skogsbruket ska värnas« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Right of public access and Swedish forestry shall be protected”
• species protection»Hotade växter och djur ska skyddas genom fridlysning,« (party programme ↗)“Threatened plants and animals shall be protected through protective designation,”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme explicitly states that wildlife management is important to avoid diseases, traffic accidents and damage to agricultural crops and forests, alongside its role in preserving biodiversity. The counter-proposal wants to enshrine these exact purposes in the hunting law's preamble. The plan's emphasis on viable farming and forestry and the connection between land ownership and hunting rights points in the same direction.

• wildlife management reduces wildlife damagedecisive»sjukdomar, trafikolyckor samt skador på jordbruksgrödor och skog« (party programme ↗)“diseases, traffic accidents and damage to agricultural crops and forests”
• wildlife management as stewardship»Jakt, fiske och viltvård är en del i bevarandet av den biologiska mångfalden.« (party programme ↗)“Hunting, fishing and wildlife management are part of preserving biodiversity.”
• viable farming and forestry»För en levande landsbygd är ett livskraftigt jord- och skogsbruk samt fiske och rennäring av« (party programme ↗)“For a living countryside, viable farming and forestry as well as fishing and reindeer herding are”
• land ownership grounds hunting rights»kopplingen mellan markägande och jakt- och fiskerätt finnas« (party programme ↗)“the connection between land ownership and hunting and fishing rights exist”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan wants to reform wildlife management through a new wildlife authority, strengthen users' positions and facilitate hunting that reduces wildlife damage, for example by letting hunters sell wild boar meat directly to consumers. Writing reduced wildlife damage into agriculture and forestry in the hunting law's preamble is in line with that direction. However, the preamble's formulation is not mentioned in the documents.

• reformed wildlife managementdecisive»• Inrätta en ny viltmyndighet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Establish a new wildlife authority”
• reduced wildlife damage»• Låta jägare sälja vildsvinskött direkt till konsumenter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Let hunters sell wild boar meat directly to consumers”
• users' position»• Stärka ägande- och brukanderätten för jordbrukare« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen ownership and use rights for farmers”
• hunting as management tool»Jägarnas insatser är en starkt bidragande orsak till att vi har livskraftiga viltstammar i landet. Det ska värnas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Hunters' efforts are a strong contributing reason why we have viable wildlife populations in the country. This must be valued.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly points to major damage to forests and agriculture resulting from grazing, bark stripping and browsing and that the increasing number of animals causes more wildlife accidents, and wants to facilitate hunting in areas with abundant wildlife. The counter-proposal's demands that the hunting law's portal paragraph should also aim at reduced wildlife damage and fewer traffic accidents is precisely the direction the plan seeks for management in balance between humans and wildlife.

• reduce wildlife damagedecisive»Det finns stora problem med skador på skogar, jordbruk och villaträdgårdar till följd av bete, fejning och bökning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There are major problems with damage to forests, agriculture and garden areas resulting from grazing, bark stripping and browsing.”
• fewer wildlife accidents»Det ökande antalet djur förorsakar dessutom fler viltolyckor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The increasing number of animals also causes more wildlife accidents.”
• facilitated hunting»Underlätta jakt i områden med mycket vilt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Facilitate hunting in areas with abundant wildlife”
• balanced wildlife management»Det finns behov av att långsiktigt förvalta bestånden av vilt för att uppnå en god balans mellan människor och djur« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There is a need to long-term manage wildlife populations to achieve a good balance between humans and animals”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.