Hunting of large cormorants may be allowed in Buryatia

In Buryatia, they plan to allow hunting of large cormorants to preserve the ecosystem of Lake Baikal. Birds are causing damage to the omul population.

According to the UlanMedia news agency, cormorants are currently protected as a hunting resource. Shooting of birds is allowed only for indigenous peoples as part of traditional activities. At the same time, there are no such peoples in the places of mass nesting of birds, and the number of cormorants is not regulated.

According to the data for the autumn of 2024, there were 48.3 thousand large cormorants in the republic. The damage to the Baikal basin alone in 2025 was estimated at 1.5 billion rubles. At the same time, the bird population is growing regularly, as they have no natural enemies in nature.

Cormorant damage is recorded in 21 regions of Russia. According to Marina Damdinova, head of the Burprirodnadzor, it is proposed to empower the regions to establish various types of hunting in relation to cormorants in order to regulate their numbers. The draft federal law will be sent to the State Duma soon.