Bear paws: On the collapse of the country's forestry

Many years ago, when I conducted expeditions to protect the Russian Taiga and we visited the remote reaches of Siberia, the issue of exporting bear paws to China was a hot topic. At that time, officials cited illegal exports, and when we spoke about legal exports and the direct interest in increasing the scale of bear hunting, the media dismissed it as fake news. Our long-time allies, who have been defending nature with us for many years, remember how we spoke about the large-scale destruction of the Russian Taiga and were met with accusations: “You’re lying, there’s no forest destruction!”

Afterwards, I went to Moscow and attended a meeting on the Forest Code. I also attended a session in the Public Chamber discussing large-scale forest fires. Thanks to the incredible work of our allies in power, data on the destruction of the wilderness was confirmed by everyone — the State Duma, the Federation Council, and all agencies. Later, the President personally confirmed it. This led to the first changes, at least — a ban on the export of round timber to China.

The FSB of Russia and the Prosecutor General's Office did excellent work. Their efforts to stop the export of unprocessed pine nuts to China were remarkable! They also directly sought a ban on the destruction of bears. Everything we spoke about was confirmed!

But how we were pressured earlier for trying to speak the truth! I saw it all with my own eyes! We conducted dozens of major expeditions and not only studied ecological problems “on the ground” through practical experience but also did everything we could to help its inhabitants. We loaded an old pickup with feeders and treats, traveled through clear-cuts and post-fire areas, and in winter, in the cold, we placed feed. How many traps and snares we removed!

You haven’t seen the horror in the Russian Taiga that I have. It’s one thing to see clear-cuts as “squares” on satellite maps, another to stand before an endless sea of destroyed forests. Experts and scientists all talk about it. I wrote about these problems and my personal observations in my book “Notes of the Russian Taiga.”

Now I would go to the taiga to restore expedition work, but look at the chaos around. No resources for the fight, no opportunities. And the pressure is colossal. Moreover, our regional official is “no fool”: he introduced bans on visiting forests precisely where public oversight is needed, with huge fines for citizens.

And now, one after another, high-ranking officials in the regions say: “Ah, how good it was before: bears were hunted, paws sold to China, everyone was happy.” They claim that the “bear invasion” is happening precisely because bans were introduced.

Meanwhile, those very “squares” on the satellite map, which everyone is now publishing and discussing, are along the banks of the Angara River in the Irkutsk region. It was there that officials themselves destroyed the taiga, organizing real criminal groups, and under the guise of “sanitary logging,” they cut everything down to the ground. They were later detained, investigated, and top officials were implicated in crimes! Scandals across the country. Everything was on kickbacks. And yes, it was there where the ex-governor shot a sleeping bear in its den — many have already forgotten about it. Human memory is weak.

And recently, we hear the head of the wildlife protection service of the Irkutsk region responding in an interview to a journalist's question: “How many bears needed to be killed per year back then? Was there a clear target number?”

“Currently, we count 22,000 bears. Given that the territory of the Irkutsk region is very large, saying there are too many bears is all relative. Based on the productivity of our region's lands, it can support 147,000 bears. These are official data from scientific studies conducted in 2019. But the economically viable number for us is 18,000. Thus, there is a difference of 4,000 individuals between the actual number and economic viability. The limit for hunting is 4,000 bears per year.”

So, the taiga can support 147,000 bears in the Irkutsk region alone, but this doesn’t align with our “economic plans.”

Do these economic plans include the large-scale plundering of the Russian Taiga, in which officials were previously involved? And “we count 22,000 bears” — did officials personally count with a calculator, searching for tracks deep in the Siberian taiga like in the Stone Age? Or are these “all relative numbers,” penciled into a report?

The mess is absolute! This I know for sure. And everyone is looking out for their own interests. Especially when officials themselves start saying how good it was when bears could be hunted and sold to the Chinese for 50,000 rubles each. And they were chopped up and sold to wealthy perverts: paws, bile, heads, and who knows, maybe even bear cubs for bile extraction farms.