Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources said Nov. 13 that regional authorities can cull up to 30% of local brown bears after reporting 87 attacks and 36 deaths in 2026.
The ministry said the measure is intended to control bear numbers and reduce attacks. It said the decision had been registered with Russia’s Ministry of Justice.
More than 12,000 reports received across Russia in 2026 concerned brown bears coming near people, the ministry said. It put the country’s bear population at 308,000.
The permitted quota varies by region. The ministry cited a 14% limit in Kamchatka and 19% in the Krasnoyarsk region.
The ministry set aside more than the equivalent of US$970,000 for culls involving bears that come close to people and feed at landfill sites. RIA, the Russian state news agency, did not give a start date or duration for the cull.
Official figures place the bear population above twice its level from three decades earlier. Government data attribute part of that growth to winters that have become shorter and milder.
