Turkey sets price on bear hunting at 10,000 liras each

KASTAMONU - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

The Forestry and Waterworks Ministry has issued a tender allowing the hunting of a maximum of 15 bears in northern Turkey in October, setting a price of 10,000 Turkish Liras (about $3,400) per bear.

The total of 15 bears in four Turkish provinces was set by the ministry’s General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks because of the increased number of bear attacks last year.  

As part of the tender issued by auction on Apr. 20, six bears and another one will be hunted in the northeastern provinces of Artvin and Giresun respectively. Three other bears will be hunted in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

In the Black Sea province of Kastamonu, five bears will be hunted by five Turkish hunters in October as part of the tender introduced by the ministry’s 10th Regional Directorate.

Kastamonu’s Forestry and Waterworks provincial bureau head, Yalçın Uyanık, said the revenue generated from the tender would be invested in local villages near the hunting grounds and male bears over the age of 8 would be hunted within the quota.

“The hunter will be escorted by a guide and a personnel member from the ministry. A hunter will be allowed to hunt no more than one bear. The quota was set for areas with the highest bear population, such as [the] Küre, Ağlı, Azdavay, Araç and Çatalzeytin [districts],” Uyanık said, adding older bears with diseases which could not contribute to the species would be preferred.