On Saturday April 9, 2022, in Gornja Radgona, as part of the 12th International Hunting and Fishing Fair, the Expert Scientific Council of the Hunting Association of Slovenia (HAS) and the LIFE Lynx Project Group organized an expert consultation on the topic Lynx in Slovenia: the success of Slovenian hunting. Speakers from Slovenia and Croatia discussed the impact of lynx on game management, how many lynx can be expected in Slovenia in the future, how to monitor lynx and how to maintain adequate genetic diversity among lynx.ming extinct again. Experts presented the biology and ecology of the lynx, the importance of introducing new lynx to improve the genetic status of the population, and investigating illegal hunting. The hunters involved and contributing significantly to the success of the project shared their experience in lynx monitoring and introductions from the Carpathians, as well as the care of lynx in adaptation before release.
Participants of the 13th Slovenian Hunters Day listened with interest to new information about the lynx in Slovenia. Photo: HAS
The 70 participants were greeted by the sounds of the hunting horns of the Križevski horn players. The first to address the gathering in the Pomurski Fair hall was Boris Nicolas Erjavec, Executive Director of Pomurski Fair, who said: “This fair is something special for Pomurski Fair; it is a fair with a soul. This green coloring of the fair motivates us and makes us happy.” Then Mag. Robert Režonja, Director General of the Directorate for Forestry and Hunting, which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. He stressed the importance of cooperation and dialogue between different stakeholders in addressing hunting issues. Dr Boštjan Pokorny, President of the HAS Expert Scientific Council, said that he was looking forward to the events, lectures and the debate at the end. “I am sure that all participants in this room are happy that the lynx is coming back,” he added.
Mag. Lado Bradač, president of HAS. Photo. HAS
HAS President Mag. Lado Bradač stressed the importance of taking care of nature and preserving biodiversity, and said of the fair, which was not held in 2021 because of the CWD-19 epidemic: “It’s really time to come, to see what’s new and to talk.” The event was moderated by Tilen Hvala, Project Adviser at HAS.
In addition to the President of HAS, mag. Vedran Slijepčević, Rok Černe, Dr. Ivan Kos, Dr. Tomaž Skrbinšek, Jernej Javornik, Miha Marolt, Peter Benedik, Stanko Anzeljc, Dr. Hubert Potočnik, Dr. Matija Stergar, Tomaž Berce and mag. Uršula Belaj. The lectures were followed by a discussion.
Abstracts of the lectures are published on the HAS website (in Slovenian). More information about the event will be published in a future issue of Slovenian hunting magazine Lovec.