Hunting in the Carpathians - an observant, exciting and demanding hobby

Hunting in the Carpathians has ancient traditions. That is how it developed historically, and above all this was fostered by the region’s natural, climatic and geographical conditions. After all, the Transcarpathian forests have always been home to a great deal of game and fowl: wolves, bears, deer, foxes, hares, martens, ducks, geese, partridges, bustards, otters and beavers. Whole villages in the Carpathians survived by hunting animals.

The Carpathians are unique in terms of hunting throughout Europe, where a trend of rapid loss of wild fauna has recently been observed. Moreover, the Ukrainian mountains have even been nicknamed a real «Africa in the centre of the European Union».

Hunting in the Carpathians is, first and foremost, intended to protect farming from pests and to replenish food and raw-material supplies, and is one of the main measures that keep the numbers of game fauna under control. Only in second place come the thrill and hobby, the romance of communing with nature, which brings pleasure, fosters physical and moral self-improvement, and develops observation and endurance.

However, hunting has not always had a positive effect on nature, especially «thanks» to poachers. That is why animal-protection advocates were forced to legalise and regulate the shooting of game and birds in order to balance the reproduction of forest fauna.

Hunting in the Carpathians: features and the «season»

The hunting season in Transcarpathia usually starts in August and, with breaks, lasts until the end of December. However, it all depends on the whims of the weather: sometimes unforeseen situations occur (forest fires due to intense heat, avalanches and so on) that can have some effect and shift the boundaries of the hunting period.

So when does the hunting «season» start in the Carpathians? Individually from 1 September to 26 December in Transcarpathia it is permitted to hunt wild cloven-hoofed animals . These are wild boar, deer and roe deer. As a matter of fact, a large number of roe deer disappeared back at the end of the last century, yet today their population in the forests continues to grow. Collective, or so-called drive hunting lasts considerably less - from the beginning of November until the end of December.

From mid-September to the end of October the Carpathian deer enter the rutting period, when the noble animals literally «go blind» from their own song - the loud roar with which they show off before the does and challenge their rivals to a duel.

Hunting wolves and foxes in the Carpathians is possible only with the appropriate permit and exclusively accompanied by experienced gamekeepers - Carpathian hunters. Lately, catching these animals has been getting harder and harder - they have grown cleverer and have adapted well to living alongside people.

Hunting Carpathian bears is strictly forbidden - these predators are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Today you can see the bruins in the flesh only at the rehabilitation centre for brown bears . Very few of them are left in the forests - no more than a couple of hundred.

Autumn is the most popular period for hunting wild boar. Collective hunting is allowed in groups of no more than 15 people.

In early August the hunting in the Carpathians of birds begins - duck, coot, water hen, sandpipers, wild pigeon and quail.

Facilities for hunters

Today hunting estates are located at every Carpathian state forestry enterprise. For hunters they provide services such as accommodation, gamekeeper accompaniment, consultations, transport, the organising of dog beating and their veterinary examination, the making of taxidermy mounts and the processing of «trophies» (antlers, fur, etc.). You must be sure to pay attention to the special hunting restrictions on cloven-hoofed animals, which each hunting estate sets individually, to undergo safety instruction and to sign the registration log.

Every hunter is obliged to carry with them the documents entitling them to hunt, namely : a hunter’s licence, a permit, an annual control card recording the game taken and any breaches of hunting rules, a shooting card, and a permit for the right to use a firearm for hunting. If during the hunt you use dogs of hunting breeds or other hunting animals and birds, you must provide the appropriate passport for them.

Hunting in the Carpathians: don’t forget about etiquette

Hunting etiquette assumes that those who «shoot» game with a rifle in season take care in the off-season of the species they intend to hunt, feeding the animals. It is held that if a hunter could easily kill an animal that has got into trouble or an awkward situation - they are not a real hunter. Anyone who shoots a hare that has ended up in the water, or a boar «stuck» in a bog or snow, will be condemned. In such cases a conscientious hunter must help the poor animal free itself and give it food.

In the Carpathians today you can not only hunt game and fowl, but also ride horses of the Carpathian breed - the Hutsul, taste wine and delicious dishes of Transcarpathian cuisine , visit ancient century-old wine cellars, go fishing, set off on walking excursions or enjoy an active holiday . In addition, you can always go on a «quiet hunt» in the Carpathians for mushrooms, berries or medicinal plants.

Please contact our managers for a consultation by phone:

+38 099 776 77 29 (MTS)

Kredyt +38 097 034 53 93 (Kyivstar)

+38 063 180 31 13 (Life)

We look forward to your enquiries by e-mail: prokarpaty@gmail.com