Those wishing to engage in hunting will be fined

According to the "Zhoghovurd" daily, citizens in Armenia who wish to engage in hunting will be scrutinized by the Police of the Republic of Armenia. ArmLur.am reports that the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia has developed a new project and put it up for public discussion. The issue is that until today there has been no procedure for conducting a minimum hunting examination, which is necessary to verify hunters' knowledge of the essential and mandatory skills required for hunting.

According to the existing legislation, individuals gain a hunting license as a result of passing the minimum hunting examination, which serves as the document confirming the right to hunt. Furthermore, an addition is stipulated in the law on State Duties, which establishes a fee for issuing hunting licenses (including exchanging hunting licenses and issuing new ones in case of loss) and for conducting the minimum hunting examination.

To fill this gap, it has become necessary to consider certain amendments to the “Law on Weapons.” According to the “Law on Weapons,” the right to acquire weapons is open to members of hunters' organizations. This regulation has contributed over the years to citizens joining various hunting organizations for the purpose of acquiring weapons, without the necessary knowledge being verified, thereby posing a potential danger to the environment and wildlife.

The aim of the proposed amendment is to make the existence of a hunting license—which verifies knowledge of the necessary skills for hunting—a mandatory condition for acquiring hunting firearms. Based on the fact that the functions of the Ministry of Environment do not relate to the verification of knowledge regarding weapon safety techniques and rules for handling hunting firearms, an amendment has been proposed for the “Law on Weapons,” assigning the verification of regulations for handling hunting firearms to the Police of the Republic of Armenia, in the same way that it is set for all other types of weapons.