Full analysis of Bill No. 148661 on the killing of Red Book animals

Right now, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia is attempting to pass Bill No. 148661 “On Amendments to the Federal Law ‘On the Animal World’,” under which it would be permitted to kill wild animals listed in the Red Book. Unfortunately, there is a very high probability that this bill will be pushed through. We already see attempts to find a “compromise in harvesting animals” that are on the brink of total extinction.

The first attempt to pass this bill was back in 2023, but at that time, thanks to public efforts, we managed to stop it! Unfortunately, in the summer of 2024, officials resubmitted the bill for consideration and are actively trying to legalize it. Moreover, the direct “interested parties” are the hunting community and high-ranking circles in power, who have previously lobbied for numerous other bills aimed at reducing the protection status of wild animals and expanding methods of killing them! Years earlier, they openly tried to demand permission to kill animals listed in the Red Book.

Although the bill does not directly authorize killing wild animals for sport hunting, it creates a dangerous precedent whereby local officials will identify a so-called “problematic animal,” and the group formed to kill it will simply include “VIP hunters” who want to shoot a trophy.

First of all, study the bill on the government initiatives website very carefully!

Study the Bill

Now let’s break it down in detail so we understand what’s at stake.

Here’s an example regarding tigers, which are in the Red Book as a species on the brink of extinction.

We’ve had a recurring problem for several years in a row with tigers leaving the wild in the Far East! In recent years, the situation has deteriorated; we have been calling for a solution and proposing real projects to resolve these conflicts. But for all these years, we’ve been told that there was no starvation in the Russian Taiga, that forests were not being destroyed, and that the tigers had enough food.

All official responses from officials have been exactly that!

Yet in the winter of 2024–2025 (December through February), the situation became so critical that there have already been casualties among both people and tigers due to conflicts! However, we managed to get the federal government to acknowledge deforestation, destruction of tiger habitats, and the shortage of a food supply.

Even so, at the same time, the Ministry of Natural Resources continues to claim there are no problems. They even sent out so-called “system specialists” to state this in the press!

So, there are no more than 750 tigers in our country, and they’re on the verge of extinction. We can’t even provide them with enough food or proper living conditions in the wild! When the federal government confirmed these problems, it was also noted that almost all the “conflict” tigers had old injuries. That means they had actually been shot; many have bullets inside them, and their wounds are festering.

Where is the oversight? Where are the federal programs to protect endangered species? Where is the restoration of the habitat for these unfortunate animals?

Well, Bill No. 148661 will simply ALLOW the killing of any “conflict” tigers that come near people next winter. If a tiger appears, it’ll be killed, and thus the “problem is solved.” That’s what they’re trying to push through with these amendments.

Bill No. 148661.

The bill proposes amendments to:

• Article 5 of the Federal Law “On the Animal World” (No. 52-FZ).
• Article 24 of the same law, adding a new Part 6 and reformatting the existing parts.

Excerpt from the bill (subparagraph “a”):

“Add a new twenty-fifth paragraph of the following content: ‘Approval of the Rules for harvesting wildlife species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, excluding aquatic biological resources.’”

What’s being said here? Currently, harvesting Red Book-listed animals is effectively prohibited, except in extreme cases that are handled individually. For instance, scientific work where animals are removed from the wild to be studied and then returned.

The new wording explicitly establishes the possibility of developing “Rules” that allow shooting these species under certain circumstances. Essentially, the Ministry of Natural Resources is trying to grant itself the right to create “Rules” for shooting endangered species.

Clearly, once a separate “harvest procedure” is introduced, there is a risk that any exceptions set forth in that procedure can be expanded over time.

Moreover, hardly anyone has noticed this, BUT — approval of the Rules by the Government usually means further details will be spelled out in subordinate regulations (decrees, ministerial orders). It’s much easier to amend these types of documents than to make amendments to the federal law itself. Thus, the process of “selectively” softening requirements becomes potentially more straightforward.

Do you understand what they’re doing, friends? They are literally trying to give themselves the freedom to rewrite the rules on shooting Red Book-listed animals in any interpretation later on! This opens a direct loophole for further manipulation of the law.

Now about the amendment to Article 24, Part 5.

Excerpt from the bill (subparagraph “a”):

“In Part 5, after the words ‘are not permitted,’ add ‘except in cases provided for in Part Six.’”

Previously, Part 5 of Article 24 directly enshrined a ban on harvesting Red Book-listed animals. Now this absolute wording gets a caveat — “are not permitted, except in…”. In other words, the “blanket” prohibition is being lifted, and a reference is inserted to the new Part 6, which outlines permissible scenarios.

Here I must evaluate the logic of the current legislation. The law “On the Animal World” and the Red Book were previously based on a principle of maximum strictness: “prohibited unless an extreme necessity is proven.” I think the essence is clear! Now decisions will be made at the discretion of agencies: the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, etc. That is, local officials will decide on their own whom to kill and whom not to.

What needs to be understood? Any phrase like “except in cases…” in the context of Red Book species is a potential loophole for the practice of “controlled hunting” or “trophy” shooting under the guise of sanitary or scientific needs.

Moving on. 1.2.2. Adding a new Part 6.

Excerpt from the bill (subparagraph “b”):

“Harvesting wildlife species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation… shall be permitted in exceptional cases for the purpose of conserving wildlife species, conducting population monitoring, protecting public health, eliminating threats to human life, preventing and eradicating infectious diseases…, preventing suffering of sick or injured animals…, ensuring the traditional way of life of indigenous peoples of the North…”

Here they lay out a list of “exceptional cases” in which the harvesting of Red Book-listed animals would be allowed. Particular attention is drawn to how broad the range of grounds is: from monitoring to “preventing suffering” and protecting the traditional way of life of indigenous peoples. The procedure for issuing permits, according to the bill’s text, “is established by the Government of the Russian Federation.”

Essentially, any of the grounds described above automatically opens the door to pushing through permits for shooting these animals. For example, “preventing suffering” — tigers that come near people with injuries; they’ve been shot at, the wounds heal over, but bullets remain inside. It means the animals are suffering, and in such a case, officials may decide to shoot them, justifying it as “relieving suffering.”

Meanwhile, the law in no way regulates who exactly and how will prove the “exceptional” nature of each case. As I understand it, the mechanism will be spelled out in subordinate legislation — meaning that the details of oversight and the degree of transparency will depend heavily on local officials!

And we all know what our officials are like. We recall Mr. Kurenkov, the Minister of Natural Resources of Kamchatka, who publicly ridiculed our proposals to protect wolves in the region using modern technical means! And afterward he stated that since they used to exterminate wolves, they would continue doing so.

So it will be precisely he and other similar officials who will decide whether to kill Red Book-listed animals. They will also establish the “subordinate rules” themselves.

These interpretations are dangerous in themselves, but there is something even more alarming (and it’s strange that the environmental community isn’t paying more attention to it) — “ensuring the traditional way of life of indigenous peoples of the North.”

I’m currently studying indigenous communities around the world during my expeditions, and I’ve visited the small ethnic groups of Russia as well. I know how this is arranged “from the inside.”

Yes, indigenous peoples should have the right to maintain their traditional way of life, but that cannot run counter to the principles of wildlife conservation. If some wild animals are on the Red Book list, on the verge of total extinction, no one should have the right to kill them. All of us — people from one end of Russia to the other, and then around the world — must work together to preserve the gene pool of species that are close to disappearing!

But I repeat, I’ve spoken with small ethnic communities and I fully understand why officials open such loopholes. In practice, indigenous peoples are usually restricted in their rights, while under the guise of “caring for small ethnic groups,” the number of allotted quotas is handed over for money to trophy hunters. This is an old scheme, where formally the right to hunt is granted to a local resident, but in reality, a wealthy “guest” from the mainland takes advantage of it.

It seems there’s no need to even explain: these are obvious matters! The Ministry of Natural Resources issues a permit for a hundred representatives of local communities to shoot tigers, but in reality, those quotas go to trophy hunters who kill Red Book-listed animals.

For example, I’ve seen this in South America, where local residents of indigenous communities are given the opportunity to get jobs and feed their families provided they surrender their land rights and hunting rights for endangered species to wealthy Europeans. As a result, the locals carry the gear of the “white sahibs” on hunts, while the latter amuse themselves by killing animals under the “official” quotas of the local people.

THIS BILL CANNOT BE PASSED — IT’S PURE INSANITY!

According to scientific data in the field of population ecology, any harvesting of a population whose numbers are already critically low (which “Red Book” status implies) can lead to irreversible genetic impoverishment. This causes inbreeding (close kinship), diseases within populations, and a gradual but inevitable extinction.

I wrote about these things in my book about protecting wolves, specifically examining such processes in the extermination of the “sanitarians” of the wild. The same applies to any species!

The smaller the genetic diversity, the more difficult it is to restore the population. Every individual of an endangered species is crucial!

This is happening worldwide now: under the guise of killing animals “in strictly limited cases,” there’s an ongoing expansion of amendments and exceptions. In other words, the key is first to push through changes to the federal law; then, once the changes are in place, more and more “rules” are added. And, again, wealthy individuals buy up these quotas for trophy hunting everywhere!

We, the public, clearly see a growing industry of sports and recreational hunting in Russia! We see that all newly adopted laws are expanding this industry, allowing officials to enrich themselves through domestic “hunting tourism” as well as building a base for trophy hunters from around the world.

If this bill is passed, it will eventually lead to cascading changes in ecosystems. No one will be able to stop the degradation! And far from the “big cities,” wealthy hunters (including foreign trophy hunters) will arrange permits to kill animals under the guise of scientific work, “relief of suffering,” and “indigenous peoples’ quotas.”

WE MUST FIGHT!

Friends, we must do everything to stop this insane bill. We’ve already reached out to all our contacts and connections in the government and are trying to influence it through our allies.

Unfortunately, there are already “deals” being made to find some sort of compromise for shooting Red Book-listed animals. Naturally, I am categorically against any downgrade in their protection status, and there can be no compromise here! Because we’re talking about animal species on the verge of total extinction.

We need your help. We can’t handle this alone! Truly, every person counts, because only a few people are ready to take any kind of action. As a result, we lose control over nature conservation!

We have launched a public initiative against the bill! It is a PUBLIC COMPLAINT addressed to government authorities, demanding an end to this madness. Take part in the initiative and spread the word.

Take Part

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© PAVEL PASHKOV