Seimas sets out how bears will compensate owners of apiaries, farm animals

With bears increasingly found wandering around Lithuania, the Seimas has established a procedure to compensate for the damage caused by these animals to apiaries from next year.  

In addition, owners of sheep, calves, fallow deer or other farm animals that have been mauled or slaughtered by lynxes or bears will be compensated for damage caused by wolves and not only by lynxes.  

On Monday, the Seimas adopted amendments to the Hunting Law, with 92 votes in favour and one abstention. 

„This is an important step, the whole of Lithuania has been very active lately watching bears in one and other districts, – Kęstutis Mažeika, the head of the Committee on Rural Affairs, said ahead of the vote.   

Damage caused by game to woody garden plants, drainage structures, crops (cereals, technical or fodder crops, potatoes, vegetables and perennial grasses grown for no more than two years), meadows, forest and hydrotechnics will also be compensated for.

In addition, compensation for damage has been simplified by allowing the affected resident to settle directly with the responsible hunting club in the first instance, and if this fails, the damage will be referred to the municipal commission for determination of the damage.  

Farmers would receive compensation for the damage on one condition – if they also make efforts to protect themselves from such damage.