16.05.2003 - Bloodless hunt to begin at weekend 29.09

Friday, on 16 May, Estonia’s top nature photographers will assemble on the island of Hiiumaa to hold their annual wildlife photography contest ‘Bloodless Hunt’ over the weekend. This year the game will be deer, but the cameras will also hunt other animals.

The wild animal photo contest is organised exactly as a real hunt; only shotguns are replaced by cameras, and successful shots of animals serve as trophies. The bloodless hunt is organised in cooperation with the Estonian Museum of Natural History by the State Forest Management Centre (RMK), whose professional hunters will guide the nature photographers and take them to the hunting sites. The photographs taken during the hunt will be evaluated by a jury, and an exhibition of the best shots will be organised in the building of Heltermaa Port on the island of Hiiumaa. In the autumn the best photos will be exhibited in the Museum of Natural History.

RMK has been organising bloodless hunts since 1997. Last year, the photographers hunted elk, and previously billy-goat and wild boar have been targets.

The manager of the state forests, the RMK, is a profit-making state agency established in accordance with the Forest Act, and its main task is to ensure the sustainable and efficient management of state forests. It is responsible for growing reforestation material, organising forestry work and selling growing timber and lumber. The RMK arranges for opportunities to exercise the right of public access in its recreational areas and develops nature education activities in nature houses and at the Sagadi Nature School.

For additional information please refer to: 
Tiit Hunt, Chief Zoologist of the Estonian Museum of Natural History, telephone +372 50 67 488

Lembit Lühi, Chief Forester of the Island Region of the RMK

telephone +372 56 468 221