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According to the ministerial order, hunting seasons vary depending on the sex of the animals: from June 6 to October 1, 2026, for males, and from October 1 to December 31, 2026, for both males and females.
Only individual hunting methods are permitted—tracking, stalking, and baiting. Drive hunting is prohibited.
Minister Gheorghe Hazder states that the deer population in the Republic of Moldova has grown significantly in recent years and is estimated at more than 28,000 individuals, which is considered to exceed the habitat’s carrying capacity. The animals are increasingly causing damage to agricultural land and even affecting the condition of forests planted as part of reforestation programs.
“When the animal population increases six- or sevenfold, young forests suffer and farmers are harmed—we must respond. We have received dozens of requests from farmers for compensation. Under normal circumstances, a much larger number of animals should be approved for hunting. The current population exceeds the optimal size for Moldova’s forests by more than 11,000 head. Reducing the population is a precautionary measure, and when the population is not regulated, ecological imbalances arise,” said Gheorghe Hazder after the government meeting.
There Are Objections
However, the ministry’s decision has drawn negative reactions from some industry representatives. Ion Bulmaga, the former head of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate who was dismissed at the request of Minister Gheorghe Hazder, believes that hunting is mistakenly being used as the sole method of regulating animal populations, which could have negative consequences.
“After many years of fighting poaching, regardless of time or place, on June 3, the Minister of the Environment signed a decree authorizing the culling of 913 roe deer and 534 red deer! I call on environmental NGOs and everyone who cares about the country’s wild fauna gene pool to condemn these destructive actions initiated by the Ministry of the Environment,” Agroexpert quotes the former inspector as saying
Selective hunting is not for trophies or meat
In a comment to Logos Press, Oleg Chekoi, chairman of the board of the Moldovan Hunters and Fishermen Society, noted that roe deer and red deer hunting in Moldova has not been conducted legally for over 30 years. This is one of the reasons why their population in the country has grown excessively.
At the same time, in the absence of sufficient natural and human-induced regulatory mechanisms, the health of these animal populations has declined—undesirable mutations have accumulated and interbreeding has occurred. From this perspective, the upcoming hunt is more about selective breeding than about harvesting trophies or meat.
Individual hunting, which allows hunters to visually and carefully assess an animal’s physical condition and select a weak animal as the target, is well-suited to the goals of a population selection campaign. Meanwhile, the ban on active drive hunting—where animals are under stress and on the move—is entirely logical.
Oleg Chekoy asserts that, in collaboration with officials from the relevant ministry, activists from the hunters’ association surveyed approximately 400,000 hectares of hunting grounds (out of 1.2 million hectares). Several dozen of these areas (out of the 191 mentioned) can be classified in the highest category (of four in total) for deer and roe deer habitat quality.
In other words, more than 80 animals inhabit an area of 1,000 hectares. Reducing their population in such areas is justified and poses no risks to the ecosystem.
