Albania extends hunting ban by five years

The Albanian parliament has voted to extend the nationwide hunting ban by five years.

Despite all protests from hunters, it approved the Ministry of Environment's draft legislation by a narrow majority. The hunting ban will come into force upon publication of the law, expected within the next two weeks. The long-overdue extension is the result of sustained pressure from national and international conservation organisations, including Albanian partner organisations of the nature conservation foundation EuroNatur. In March 2014, the Albanian government imposed a two-year hunting moratorium across the entire country for the first time. The decisive factor was the massive decline in wildlife in Albania.

“EuroNatur congratulates the Albanian government and the Albanian parliament on this decision. The extension of the hunting moratorium is groundbreaking and urgently necessary. Now it is essential to ensure that the hunting ban is consistently put into practice,” says EuroNatur Executive Director Gabriel Schwaderer. Albania's wildlife populations are still at a catastrophically low level. Among other things, the wetlands along the Albanian Adriatic coast and in the hinterland become a death trap for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds every year.

“To turn things around, the Albanian government must make use of the hunting moratorium and push forward with full force the already ongoing comprehensive reform of the hunting sector. Monitoring of huntable species that meets international standards is indispensable. Hunting quotas and the list of huntable species can no longer be pulled out of thin air. Also crucial are the establishment of reliable controls and the prosecution of hunting offences,” says EuroNatur Project Manager Thies Geertz.

Although the situation remains critical, the first positive effects of the hunting ban are already visible: in 2015, commercial hunting tourism declined. At the same time, the number of birdwatchers has increased in attractive birdwatching areas such as the Karavasta Lagoon. “The hunting ban has opened up new, sustainable sources of income for the local population. This is the path we must continue to follow,” says Thies Geertz.