Opening of hunting season for beaver and otter

Hunting for beaver and otter will open on September 1 and will last until March 31, 2024. Hunting for beaver and otter is permitted by both firearm (from ambush, stalking, approaching by small vessels, at burrows) and non-firearm (at burrows, using traps or snares (excluding loops) methods.

The following hunting implements are permitted: rifled hunting firearms with a muzzle energy of over 1500 joules, smooth-bore firearms using cartridges loaded with bullets or buckshot, hunting bows and crossbows. When hunting by approaching, small vessels without an engine or with a non-operating engine are allowed. Hunting dogs (excluding hounds and sighthounds), traps, and snares (excluding loops) are also permitted.

Hunting for beaver and otter is permitted both during daylight and nighttime hours. It should be noted that during non-firearm hunting with traps or snares, their setting (removal), inspection, setting of the trigger, and retrieval of harvested animals are only allowed during daylight hours. Firearm or non-firearm hunting at burrows, as well as firearm hunting by approaching with small vessels, are only permitted during daylight hours.

We draw the special attention of hunters to the fact that firearm hunting for beaver and otter during nighttime hours is permitted by methods of ambush, stalking, and only with single-use hunting permits (valid for no more than 24 hours), as well as with the mandatory appointment and presence of a hunting supervisor.

During non-firearm hunting for beaver and/or otter, it is permitted to harvest American mink and muskrat that have accidentally entered traps or other snares set for beaver and/or otter. In this case, the hunter must indicate the species of animal (American mink or muskrat) and the date of harvest for each accidentally harvested animal on the reverse side of the hunting permit before retrieving it from the trap or snare.

If a hunter discovers another game animal of regulated species or a wild animal belonging to a species included in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus in a trap (snare) set by them for beaver or otter, the hunter, without removing the animal from

a trap or other snare, must inform the official of the hunting grounds user.

If an otter is caught in a trap or other snare while a hunter is taking a beaver (or vice versa), the permit shall be closed for the animal actually taken.

Illegal hunting of beavers or otters shall entail administrative (Part 1 of Article 16.27 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences) or criminal (Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) liability, as well as the obligation to compensate for the damage caused to the environment by the offender as a result of the illegal taking of the animal. In accordance with the legislation, the amount of the above-mentioned damage in the case of illegal beaver taking is 70 base units. Since the river otter is a CITES specimen (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed in Washington on March 3, 1973), the amount of damage in case of its illegal taking is 200 base units.