Active hunters, 2010/2011

Since the beginning of the 1990s the felling quota of red deer has strongly increased. The number of red deer hunters has also grown during this period. Much of the increase has taken place in municipalities in Eastern Norway and Trøndelag, where felling quotas have become larger in the recent years. In the three large red deer counties, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal, the increase in the number of hunters has not been proportional to the increase in number of animals felled.

More cervid hunters than small game hunters

A total of 144 100 persons hunted in the previous hunting year. Of these, 90 900 hunted cervids, and cervids hunters are still more numerous than small game hunters. In Norway, hunting of cervids includes moose, roe deer, red deer and wild reindeer. Although more red deer than moose are being shot, there are considerable fewer red deer hunters than moose hunters .The numbers of moose hunters has remained stable, and last hunting year 60 300 hunted moose. A total of 39 600 hunters hunted roe deer, and there are now fewer roe deer hunters than red deer hunters. Wild reindeer is the cervid species that fewest persons are allowed to hunt, and only 8 400 hunted wild reindeer in the autumn of 2010.

The hunters are getting older

As the population gets older, the average age among the hunters also increase. Hunters who hunted in 2010/2011 were on average about 45 years old. Since the hunting year 2001/2002 the average age of hunters has increased by two years. The proportion of hunters less than 40 years has decreased, while those between 40 and 75 years have increased.

90 000 small game hunters

A total of 90 000 persons participated in small game hunting. There has been a decline in the number of small game hunters the last hunting years. One reason for this decrease is that fewer have been hunting grouse. The reduction in the number of grouse hunters seem to have stopped. A total of 53 000 hunted grouse last hunting year, which is a small increase from the previous year.

8 100 female hunters

Although the share of female hunters that paid hunting fee license still increases, the number of female hunters has been stable around 8 000 in the last three hunting years. 5.1 per cent of the small game hunters and 5.0 per cent of the cervids hunters were women.

Most hunters in rural areas

At country level, 7 per cent of the male population went hunting during the hunting year 2010/2011. The share of hunters is higher in rural areas than in urban areas and cities. In some rural municipalities nearly 50 per cent of the male population older than 16 years old goes hunting. Among the male population in Oslo and Bergen, only 3 per cent went hunting.

Tables:

• Table 1 Hunting reports, by the hunters' county of residence. 2001/2002-2010/2011
• Table 2 Number of hunters, by type of hunting and county of residence. 2001/2002-2010/2011
• Table 3 Number of hunters, by type of hunting, sex and age. 2010/2011