The most recent comprehensive bear inventory was conducted in Sweden in 2022. It showed that there are approximately 2,800 bears in the country. The bear is strictly protected under the EU’s Species and Habitats Directive and protected under Swedish law.
Licensed bear hunting takes place in the seven northernmost counties. The last to make a decision on allocation was the Dalarna County Administrative Board, which announced its decision on Tuesday. There, a total of 50 bears, of which a maximum of 27 may be female, may be shot, compared with a total of 75 last year.
Doubled number
In Norrbotten, the number of bears that can be hunted this year has almost doubled compared with last year: 46 versus 24. The county has not set a female quota for this year’s licensed hunt. There is an explanation for the almost doubled number:
This year there were so few bears, only 14, killed during the protected hunt in Norrbotten this spring. Some years there are usually up to 60, says Gunilla Manbré, head of the Natural Resources and Reindeer Management Unit at the County Administrative Board.
One hundred bears may be shot in Västerbotten, the same number as last year. In the fall of 2024 there were just over 500 bears in the county; the number will be reduced to the target of 350.
“We believe this is far too high a harvest considering that the bear is a strictly protected species. Licensed hunting in recent years has led to a sharp reduction in the bear population. Since protected hunting is added to licensed hunting, the total harvest will be greater than the decided quotas,” says Isak Isaksson, an expert on predators at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, who has chosen not to appeal the decisions this year.
Want to have the decision reviewed
The Swedish Predators Association, however, will appeal all decisions on licensed bear hunting. The association is skeptical that Västerbotten will remove 100 bears and has recently appealed the decision to the Administrative Court. The association wants the decision to be tested against the EU’s Species and Habitats Directive, which is superior to Swedish legislation.
“We generally appeal decisions regarding protected hunting and licensed hunting. We want a viable bear population,” says Björn Israelsson, a lawyer at the Swedish Predators Association.
Facts: Licensed bear hunting in 2026
This year’s allocation in bear hunting licenses with last year’s figure in brackets:
Västerbotten County: 100 (100)
Jämtland County: 85 (108)
Gävleborg County: 70, of which a maximum of 35 females (75)
Dalarna County: 50, of which a maximum of 27 females (75)
Norrbotten County: 46 (24)
Västernorrland County: 40 (85)
Värmland County: 3, of which one female (3)
