Creation of VIP Hunting Grounds and the Destruction of Wildlife
The Draft Law aims to turn Ukrainian forests into closed hunting grounds for VIP safaris under the guise of “sustainable game management.” It proposes granting forests for use as hunting grounds for 20 years at a symbolic fee of just UAH 6.65 per hectare per year, while shifting the cost of restoring depleted wildlife populations to the state budget – that is, to taxpayers.
The initiative legalizes the use of night vision devices, thermal imaging cameras, drones, sound-emitting devices, traps, and the shooting of animals in semi-free conditions (effectively in enclosures), depriving wildlife of any real chance of survival. The Draft Law effectively abolishes the “quiet season” by allowing hunting during breeding and offspring-rearing periods. It also classifies as hunting resources species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine (including the lynx, otter, marmot, moose, and red-breasted goose) as well as species protected under international conservation lists. In addition, the Draft Law allows hunting within protected natural areas, legalizes the shooting of stray dogs and cats, and creates a new state agency that would simultaneously allocate hunting grounds, promote hunting, and oversee its own activities, while excluding the specialized institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine from the decision-making process.
The Draft Law has been strongly opposed by the environmental and animal welfare community, including WWF-Ukraine and UAnimals, which emphasize that it contradicts EU nature conservation legislation (the Birds Directive, the Habitats Directive, and the Bern Convention) and should be immediately withdrawn by its initiators.
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