Active hunters, 2008/2009

The share of female hunters still increases. In the hunting year 1971/1972 less than a half per cent of the hunters were women. In the last decades, the number of female hunters has increased slowly, and in the hunting year 2008/2009, 6 per cent of the hunters were women.

In total, 142 500 persons hunted during the last hunting season. Hunting on small game is most common and 64 per cent of the hunters participated in this kind of hunting in 2008/2009. Small game hunting is being practised all over the country.

More cervid hunters

In total, 88 500 hunters hunted cervids in the autumn of 2008, an increase of 2 600 hunters from the previous year. In Norway, hunting on cervids includes moose, roe deer, red deer and wild reindeer. Most of the increase is caused by more red deer hunters. Since the beginning of the 1990’s the felling quota as well as the number of felled red deer has strongly increased. The number of red deer hunters has also increased during this period. A total of 37 700 hunters hunted red deer in the autumn of 2008, an increase of 2 900 or 8 per cent compared with the previous autumn. Although the felling quotas on moose and red deer are now at the same level, considerably fewer hunters hunted red deer than moose. 58 300 hunted moose last autumn. Still, the second most frequent type of cervid hunting is roe deer hunting, which engaged 39 600 hunters. In total, 15 100 of the roe deer hunters had yield from the hunting. Wild reindeer is the cervid species that fewest persons are allowed to hunt , because the hunting rights are individual. A total of 8 100 hunters hunted wild reindeer in the autumn of 2008.

Most hunters in rural areas

At the national level, 7 per cent of the male population went out shooting during the hunting year 2008/2009. The share of hunters is higher in rural areas than in the urban areas and cities. In some rural municipalities nearly 50 per cent of the male population older than 16 years went out shooting. Among the male population in Oslo and Bergen only 3 per cent went hunting.

More hunters report via the Internet

The share of hunters that use the Internet when they report is still increasing. In 2009, 67 per cent reported via the Internet. Young hunters more frequently use the Internet than old hunters. 83 per cent of the hunters between 20 and 29 years reported via the Internet. Nevertheless, as much as 62 per cent of the hunters between 50 and 59 years used the Internet in 2009.

Tables:

• Table 1 Hunting reports, by the hunters' county of residence. 2001/02-2008/09
• Table 2 Number of hunters, by type of hunting and county of residence. 2001/02-2008/09
• Table 3 Number of hunters, by type of hunting, sex and age. 2008/09