Russia bans winter den hunt for bears – countless cubs saved

Cubs were left to freeze or starve to death

March 2011: The cruel hunting practice of rousting bears from their dens during winter hibernation and then shooting them has been banned in Russia.

BANNED: Hunters will no longer be able to pursue hibernating bears in Russia

The practice left tiny bear cubs orphaned, which would quickly die of starvation or freeze to death.  Since 1995, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has campaigned to end the winter den hunt, which left many tiny bear cubs orphaned. Those IFAW were unable to rescue would quickly die of starvation or freeze to death. To date, IFAW has successfully released more than 150 cubs from its rehabilitation center in Bubonitsy, in the Tver region of Russia.

A tremendous step forward in animal welfare
‘The "Rules of the Hunt" legislation is a tremendous step forward for animal welfare in Russia and reflects the desire of the Russian people to protect bears from this type of hunting,' said IFAW Russia director, Dr Maria Vorontsova.

Robbie Marsland, IFAW UK director added: ‘In 2009, IFAW gathered more than 400,000 signatures against the winter den hunt. This shows the strength of public opinion to stop this cruel practice.'

The new law significantly reduces the hunting season for bears and specifically excludes the winter, when bears are hibernating in their dens. Brown bears can now be hunted only in April and May and from the beginning of August to the end of November. Hunting of the Asiatic black bears is restricted only to the period from August to November.

In addition to the ban on winter den hunting, under the new law, it is now illegal to hunt bears that are less than one year old, and females with cubs under one year old