From the 1st of July, 2017, Estonia is holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and on this occasion, the CIC would like to share some interesting news about its Estonian member.
Directors of European Hunting Organizations held a Seminar in Estonia
On July 20th, 2017, the Directors of European hunting organizations held a meeting in Estonia, drawing the largest number of representatives ever. Over 20 Directors from across the European Union gathered in Sagadi manor´s forest center to hold a hunting seminar.
The Seminar was opened by Marku Lamp the Deputy Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Environment. Margo Tannik from the Environmental Board of Estonia then did a presentation about big game management. Estonian biologist, Jaanus Remm, spoke about forest management.
David Scallan, Senior Conservation Manager of FACE, gave an update on FACE.
In addition, Jarkko Nurmi from Finland discussed the hunting information systems that they use; Gábor Rácz Fodor talked about the Hungarian hunting information systems.
The seminar dealt with the serious issue of African swine fever (ASF), which is a current problem that is plaguing Europe. Martins Lidums from the Latvian Hunting Association gave a closer look about the situation in Latvia; and Karli Ligi from the Estonian Ministry of Environment spoke about ASF in Estonia.
Tõnis Korts, Executive Director of the Estonian Hunters Society, introduced the organization and gave a presentation on hunting management in Estonia. He described more of how Estonian hunters fight ASF, how they manage it, and how they play an important role in communicating with the media about this topic.
Tamás Marghescu, Director General of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), gave an overview of the latest updates and activities of the international organization.
The Directors agreed that the seminar was productive and provided a good outlook about the current situation of European hunting organizations. “It was a good opportunity to take a closer look at the management of wildlife in Estonia”, concluded Karli Ligi from the Estonian Ministry of Environment.
Estonia Hunters’ Society’s National Trophy Exhibition
On July 20th, 2017, the Estonian Hunters Society (EHS), a CIC member for 25 years, opened a national trophy exhibition at the Sagadi Forest Museum.
Since March, trophy evaluations were held in 5 different regions across Estonia. The Certified CIC Measurers and Senior International Trophy Judges measured 1,571 trophies all together, which is the largest number measured so far. From all of the measured trophies, 1,328 were scored at the gold medal level.
In addition, there were other records reached in Estonia. The roe deer trophy, which previously held the record for 40 years, was outscored by a trophy from Mati Koger took the win with a score of 196.58 CIC points. There was also a wild boar trophy which was measured at 140.03 CIC points, which was this year´s record. A golden jackal´s skull was scored to a record golden trophy as well with a 26.83 CIC points.
“The culture of hunting trophies is a part of our national culture,” said President of the EHS Margus Puust. “First and foremost, it shows respect to the nature and mammals,” added Puust.
Executive Director of the EHS, Tõnis Korts, said that the hunting trophies are getting more and more important in their society: “The hunting culture has become very important to the hunters, but also there are pedagogical and scientific aspects included in this matter.” Korts explained further, “For example we can see that the roe deer have strong and well developed antlers and that shows the population is in good condition.”
The hunting trophy exhibitions have traditionally been held since 1968. This year was the 12th time that the exhibition took place. In the trophy exhibition, one can see the antlers of elk, roe deer, and red deer; wild boar tusks; skins of lynx, wolves, and brown bears; and skulls of wolves, brown bears, lynx, beavers, badgers, foxes, and raccoon dogs. There are also some new trophies on display, such as the golden jackal´s skull and other exotic species. The trophy exhibition is open until September during the working hours of the Forest Museum.
CIC Trophy Evaluation System Training
There was a CIC Trophy Evaluation System Training event held at the Sagadi Manor in Estonia June 15-16, 2017. There was an excellent turnout with 22 participants from Estonia and 6 from Finland. The group was enthusiastic, hard working, and invested in learning the material and actively participating in the course. The event was a success and the addition of the new measurers will be a great help to the culture of hunting trophies in Estonia.
Follow CIC Trophy Evaluation System on Facebook.
Pictures of the Estonian Hunters Summer Festival can be found here.