Farmers to be compensated for damage caused by bears, lynx, protected animals

The Parliament has allowed farmers to be compensated for damage caused by bears, lynx and non-hunted wild animals from January 2026 by the Environmental Protection Support Programme. 

On Thursday, 100 members of the Seimas voted in favour of the amendments to the law on the Environmental Support Programme, with two abstentions. From the beginning of next year, the programme will be able to be used to repair damage to crops, meadows, horticultural plants, forests, hydrotechnical and land reclamation structures and apiaries caused by strictly protected species of wild animals and animals that are prohibited from hunting.

Notwithstanding this, damage to apiaries and damage caused by brown bears and lynxes is not recorded or assessed.

BNS previously wrote that according to the State Service for Protected Territories, bears were spotted 69 times in 2018–2024. In addition, it is estimated that up to 150 lynx live in Lithuania.

According to the unofficial bear map of the Lithuanian Hunters and Fishermen's Society, 17 times this year bears have been filmed in Lithuania, and their tracks or excrements have been recorded. Last year, bears or their signs were recorded 19 times.

Bison are also on the rise in Lithuania, with 308 counted in 2023 and 182 in 2016. The highest number of bison in 2023 was recorded in the Kėdainiai District – 207. Due to the constant chasing of bison away from crops, the animals cross the "Via Baltica" highway and stray into Kaunas and Jonava districts.