Since the 1980s the number of moose felled during the hunting season has decreased by more than half. Only 82,000 moose where felled in the whole country during the last hunting season. That is 8,000 less than in the previous year.
The continuous reduction of felled moose seems to be due to a decreasing population, which is a reason for concern among Swedish hunters. Moose is very important for Sweden, not only as the foremost game animal, but also as a national symbol. On national level the decreasing number of felled moose is a consequence of a reduced population. Mr Göran Bergqvist, consultant at the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management, says that on local level it is more difficult to draw any conclusions concerning the reasons for this phenomenon. Reduced felling may be a result of a decreasing population, but it may also be due to restraint among hunters in order to save the reducing population.
In Northern Sweden the reduction is mainly due to demands from large scale forestry where the opinion is that moose cause too much damage.
There are almost 300,000 moose hunters in Sweden and for many of them moose hunting is the highlight of the year. Moose also constitutes an important supplement on Swedish tables, the quantity of meat being about 11,000 tons.