MOOSE MADNESS

Every fall something happens in Sweden which can be best described as moose frenzy. This is prompted by the annual elk hunt during which about 120,000 animals are shot by avid hunters.
The Swedish moose population grows fast and at 300,000 the population is so large that the animals must be culled by a regulated hunt during a three-month period beginning in September to save the forests.

This has not always been the case. Up until the 17th century moose were commonplace in Scandinavia. In 1789 Gustav III allowed landowners to shoot practically as many moose as they wanted. After just a few decades the moose population of Sweden was more or less eliminated. With new regulations and helpful conditions the population grew slowly from the mid-19th century onwards, aided partly by the fact that the bigger beasts of prey became rarer.

Swedes have a very emotional relationship with the woods and countryside. And the country's 250,000 licenced hunters, of which 10,000 are women, start preparing for the fall hunt as soon as the days start getting shorter.

The objective is not a trophy of antlers for the wall, but meat for the freezer. Moose meat is a delicacy.

There was a time when moosehunting was much more restricted and the season kept shorter. But since 1960 there has been an increase in the moose population, mainly caused by clear cutting in the forests which has left more forage on the forest floor. So have the wide electricity line lanes in the forest. The moose have been destroying young pine planted by the forestry industry as a new source of wood.

As well as stripping new plantation growth, the moose are also involved in about 5,000 traffic accidents every year, crossing roadways and highways.

The moose population culminated in 1982 at about 400,000 and almost 175 000 animals were shot that year.

When over 100,000 moose are killed each year there is obviously a lot of moose meat produced. The weight of a bull moose ranges between 135 and 300 kilograms which means there is about 17 million kilograms of meat (worth about half a billion kronor) on average felled each year. This is more than the entire annual mutton and reindeer production. But only a fraction of the moose meat is sold. (The price ranges from $ 28 to $ 56 per kilogram.) Most of it disappears into the hunter's freezer. For the hunter this means big savings in meat costs and many are the families in Sweden that depend entirely on moose for meat.

The moose hunt is strictly regulated. No automatic weapons, shotguns or smoothbore guns can be used. There are only four rifle groups that qualify. The hunter undergoes a stiff test before being granted a rifle licence. The moose quotas and the length of the hunting season are set by county officials. The hunting rights are owned by the land-owner and the hunter pays for the right to hunt. The season closes during the three-week rutting period.

50 to 65 per cent of the kills must be bulls or middle-aged cows. A young cow produces one calf a year for the first three years. This increases to two or three calves per year. So in Sweden it is imperative that the older cows are shot, otherwise there would be too many calves.

Many foreign hunters participate in the moose hunt. Many of them are guests of the big corporations who have the rights to substantial hunting grounds.Much business is transacted in the castles and ancient manor houses where nobles once relaxed after the day's hunt.