The Primorye Territory Department of Hunting Supervision (Okhotnadzor), including its Directorate for the Protection of Wildlife and Specially Protected Areas, has summed up the results of its last year’s activity during a session in Ussuriysk, the Amur Tiger Centre’s press service reported.

The agency’s primary task is to safeguard the nature and wildlife of Primorye. Special focus is on the protection of the Amur tiger, which has been included in the Russian Red Data Book. About 80 percent of its habitat in Russia is occupied by the hunting farms and game reserves of the Primorye Territory.

Okhotnadzor inspectors carry out daily raids and risk their lives seizing illegal firearms from poachers and confiscating illegally hunted animals (43 roe deer, 30 boars, 23 sika deer, eight Manchurian wapitis and one Himalayan bear were confiscated in 2016). Nine criminal cases on charges of hunting violations were opened. Moreover, Okhotnadzor promptly responds to reports of wild animals near towns and villages, assists the Centre for the Reintroduction and Rehabilitation of Tigers and Other Rare Animals and monitors the food resources available for tigers.

Sergei Vobly, chief of an Okhotnadzor rapid response team, who, in 2016, received a letter of gratitude from President Vladimir Putin, has served as an Amur tiger guardian and protector for 30 years. “Never strike a friendly or pleading tone with poachers, otherwise they won’t have respect for you and might even behave aggressively. That’s the kind of psychology that I have repeatedly tested during my career. Strong people are afraid of strength. In our profession, it’s important not to be afraid. Violators sense it,” Sergei says.

Okhotnadzor receives permanent support from the Amur Tiger Centre.  

An interview with Alexei Surovy, deputy director of the Primorye Territory Department of Hunting Supervision.