Active hunters, 2011/2012

The increase in small game hunters the previous year is mostly caused by more grouse hunters. Among the cervid species, moose is still the most common game to be hunted. A total of 61 000 hunters hunted moose in 2011/2012. Since the beginning of the 1990’s, the felling quota as well as the number of felled red deer, has strongly increased. Although it is possible to shoot more red deer than moose, it is still significantly fewer red deer hunters than there are moose hunters. However, the number of red deer hunters is increasing. A total of 43 000 hunters hunted red deer last hunting year, that is an increase of 4 per cent since the year before.

More female hunters

The share of female hunters still increase. 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 2011/2012, 5.9 per cent of the hunters were women. A total of 8 500 women hunted during the last hunting year.

The hunters are getting older

Hunters who hunted in 2011/2012 were on average 46.3 years, while those who hunted in 2001/2002 were 43.2 years. The proportion of hunters less than 40 years has decreased, while those between 40 and 75 years have increased. This change has resulted in a higher average age. The same changes can be observed in the population as a whole.

Most hunters in rural areas

At country level, 7 per cent of the male population went hunting during the hunting year 2011/2012. 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 goes hunting. Among the male population in Oslo and Bergen, there were only 3 per cent.

Tables:

• Table 1 Hunting reports, by the hunters' county of residence. 2001/2002-2011/2012
• Table 2 Number of hunters, by type of hunting and county of residence. 2001/2002-2011/2012
• Table 3 Number of hunters, by type of hunting, sex and age. 2011/2012