Moose Hunting

The first Monday in September is a magical date for hunters in Norrland because that is when the moose hunt starts. It is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration to say that everything stops here on this day but in some areas this is not too far from the truth. Signs like “closed for the moose hunt during week 36” are not that uncommon in the hinterland. Many working women also take the week off to take care of all the meat the men bring home.
In the rest of the country, that is south of Dalarna and Hälsingland, the moose hunt starts on the second Monday in October and continues for about two months.

Nearly one-third of the approximately 350,000 moose in Sweden, that account for half of the global population of the large animals, are legally killed by hunters every year.

The moose hunt is a veritable tradition that makes front-page news each autumn. There are an estimated 300 000 licensed hunters and many prominent Swedes, including the King, are avid hunters. No political party has taken an anti-hunting position. There are five hunting magazines in Sweden which is one of the few countries in the world where hunting is organized on a voluntary basis by hunters’ groups and private associations.

Setting the hunting seasons and quotas for animals in specific regions fall under the umbrella of the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, established in 1830. Wildlife in Sweden is managed scientifically. Licensing, testing and gun ownership all converge to limit hunting access to only the most committed, above all because firearm ownership and storage are strictly controlled. All hunters have to pass an examination comprising five separate parts, both theoretical and practical.

Moose are hunted from one hour before sunrise until sunset. Only rifles may be used to hunt moose (as well as red deer, beavers and bears while there are special ammunition restrictions that apply to hunting fallow deer and wild boar). Dogs are allowed and are a big part of the hunting team.

Swedes hunt moose in teams. Owners of hunting rights often pool their rights to create large hunting areas. The hunters in a team share both the costs and the meat regardless of which one of them actually shoots the animal. The collective nature of the Swedish moose hunt focuses on the meat, not the trophy. Special places to stand are built before the hunt begins. The shooting direction from the stand is restricted to protect other hunters. Guns are not loaded until the hunter reaches the stand and they are unloaded when the hunter leaves the stand. The hunters stay in touch using walkie-talkies. Moose sightings are reported to the dog handlers and when a moose is killed all are notified. Aimless wandering in the forest is not permitted as part of the hunt. What is ‘hunting” and what is “not hunting” are sharply defined. Any shot taken must be explained and accounted for. A wounded moose is seen as a serious ethical and economic problem. Shooting more than once is a concern because of the waste of meat.

Every landowner is allowed to hunt on his land regardless of its size. Moose hunting generates millions for the forest companies. Firstly they are glad to get rid of the moose as they feed mostly on the bark, leaves, and branches of birch and pine trees, causing more than 130 million dollars a year in damage to the forest industry. On top of that the forest companies get about 80 million kronor annually from hunters. The millions roll in as moose are culled on land belonging to the forest companies even though they do not own the wild animals. But they own millions of hectares of land all over the country which they lease out to hunters.

There is nothing defined in law about how much landowners are allowed to charge for hunting rights. So it can cost anywhere between zero and thousands of kronor to shoot a moose. At the same time an average moose produces 130 kilos of meat that is estimated to be worth about 15 000 kronor.

In southern Sweden it is more common for hunters to lease a hunting area and then no fees are paid per culled moose. In the northern parts of the country the forest companies often want to paid for both the lease of the hunting grounds and each culled moose.