2013

“Latvia’s State Forests” to cooperate with hunters

JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” has signed a memorandum “on mutual cooperation on reducing damage caused by game animals”, with public organisations representing hunters.

The goal of the memorandum is to facilitate setting up and maintaining hunting infrastructure properly and reducing potential animal damage risks to forest management. It also helps to prevent the impact of JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” logging, silviculture, forest infrastructure maintenance and construction activities on hunting infrastructure.

JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” Silviculture Director Mārtiņš Gūtmanis: “To reduce the amount of damage caused by forest animals, we decided to sit down at the negotiating table with hunters and look for a solution, since productive, quality and healthy forests can only be grown by mutually cooperating. Bringing order to infrastructure is the first step in the right direction and will benefit both sides.”

Latvian Hunters’ Union Board Chairman Jānis Baumanis: “The memorandum is a new step in cooperation between hunters and JSC “Latvia’s State Forests”. It would not have been imaginable several years ago. Hunters now believe that the company sees not only foreign, but also local hunters in its forests. They have begun to take into account other sectors much more and think not only about the quantity of game animals, but also about their quality. I believe that this cooperation model could serve as a good example to promote dialogue also with private forest owners, environmental and agricultural organisations.”

Latvian Association of Hunters Board Chairman Elmārs Švēde: “Even though the rules of the game are clearly defined for both sides, there are concerns about different interpretations. Therefore the memorandum serves as a test document and it will be necessary to return to its provisions after a certain period of time. I hope that mutual understanding will help to preserve hunting in Latvia and enhance its quality.”

Association “Medniekiem.lv” Board Chairman Andris Zariņš: “This memorandum could be a good example to sign a similar document with the Forest Owners’ Association, ensuring equal game rules in a larger area. At the moment, the sides face considerable amounts of work to acquaint hunters and others involved in cooperation with this information.”

JSC “Latvia’s State Forests”

Communications Department head

Tomass Kotovičs