Illegal hunting: history and modernity

Makhmutova Liliya Rinatovna Junior Researcher; Sector of Environmental, Land and Agrarian Law; Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences 10 Znamenka str., Moscow, 119019, Russia makhmutovalr@gmail.com

Conservation of nature is an indispensable duty of every human being and humanity as a whole. Scientists differ in their estimates of how many species of animals and plants have been destroyed by humans to date, but their number, unfortunately, is also growing. The report of the UN Office for Combating Crime and Drugs notes that despite the elimination of large trafficking networks and the suppression of demand in key markets, the overall picture for thousands of protected plants and animals remains quite gloomy" (UN Report: the scale of poaching has decreased, but the threat remains [Electronic resource]: URL: https://news.un.org/ru/story/2024/05/1452176 (date addresses: 08/12/2024).

The relevance of studying the problems of illegal hunting is due to a whole range of factors. So, among the first things to be mentioned is the deteriorating environmental situation around the world, which is observed at the macro and micro levels. Environmental degradation is often the result of artificial human intervention in ecosystem activities, through disruption of natural biological processes. In addition, in an unstable geopolitical situation and rapidly developing technologies (digitalization and informatization of all spheres of society, the creation of artificial intelligence, etc.), illegal hunting is taking on new forms. It is no longer limited to traditional methods, but includes the use of the most high-tech equipment, which complicates the processes of detecting and suppressing such crimes.

In recent years, there has been an alarming trend towards an increase in poaching, especially in regions with a low level of economic development and at the same time rich in natural resources. In addition, illegal hunting becomes a source of income for organized crime, which entails not only environmental, but also social problems, forcing law enforcement agencies to pay special attention to countering such environmental crimes. Illegal hunting also contributes to the destruction of animal habitats, disruption of natural biological processes, as poachers use extremely dangerous hunting methods for nature, causing irreparable damage to the environment. This, in turn, entails the loss of biodiversity and a series of processes that have negative consequences for the ecological situation in a particular territory. It is impossible not to mention the direct impact of the consequences of illegal hunting on the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation and their traditional sources of livelihood. Poaching reduces local residents' access to the resources they used to survive, increasing social anxiety among individual nationalities and worsening their quality of life.

Since illegal hunting is one of the most common ways of causing damage to the animal world today, it is necessary to study the phenomenon of this phenomenon in more detail.

In Federal Law No. 209-FZ dated July 24, 2009 "On Hunting and Conservation of Hunting Resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" (Federal Law of the Russian Federation. 2009. No. 30. St. 3735.) (hereinafter the Federal Law "On Hunting") Hunting refers to activities related to the search, tracking, pursuit of hunting resources, their extraction, primary processing and transportation. Hunting is equated to the presence of individuals in hunting grounds with hunting tools and (or) hunting products, hunting dogs, hunting birds. Federal Law No. 52-FZ of April 24, 1995 "On the Animal World" (NW of the Russian Federation. 1995. No. 17. Article 1462.) refers hunting to one of the types and methods of using the animal world (Article 34). Illegal hunting is understood as hunting in violation of the requirements of hunting legislation, including hunting without a corresponding permit for the extraction of hunting resources, outside designated areas, outside the terms of hunting, etc. (Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 18, 2012 No. 21 "On the application by courts of legislation on liability for violations in the field of environmental protection and nature management" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2012. № 251).

Illegal hunting causes serious damage to ecosystems and biodiversity of both individual regions and the whole of Russia. One of the key negative consequences is the threat of extinction of rare and endangered species of animals. The reduction in the number of individual species as a result of their uncontrolled extermination by poachers may cause a decrease in their populations. This not only destroys established food chains and established hierarchies, but also upsets the balance in nature, negatively affects the health of the ecosystem as a whole. Unfortunately, illegal extraction of animal resources is a phenomenon that is permanent. At the same time, the risk of a massive reduction in the population of the species that are its objects is not taken into account. The increase in the number of illegal attacks on hunting species in some regions regularly increases during periods of hunting prohibition.

Hunting as an activity is one of the first mastered by homo erectus, an upright man. Even 1.5 million years ago, the extraction of wild animals played a major role in human nutrition and protection. In the future, the skills of tracking and catching wild animals allowed them to adapt and use them not only for food, but also to be used in agriculture, domesticating the most valuable species for economic purposes. Due to the climatic features of our homeland, the forests were filled with fur–bearing animals, the skin of which had great economic value and was a means of payment ^{[1, pp. 35-36]}. Thus, hunting contributed to the development of trade, the pursuit of the beast provoked the exploration of new territories, and their catch - the emergence of new tools.

Hunting has not lost its importance so far. Hunting tourism for entertainment is widespread in certain regions and regions of the country. The legislation provides for special privileges in the field of hunting for indigenous small-numbered peoples, since hunting is part of traditional economic activity for the peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East. The right to exercise it freely, without any restrictions is enshrined in legislation (Federal Law of the Russian Federation. 2009. No. 30. Article 3735.). They are allowed to extract species, hunting of which is otherwise prohibited ^{[2, p. 15]}. In this case, the legislator clearly differentiates the motivation for hunting.

As noted earlier, hunting of indigenous peoples and hunting of citizens living in large settlements is carried out for completely different purposes. Representatives of small indigenous peoples hunt not for hedonistic purposes, but for the purpose of obtaining food and preserving the traditional way of life, which has not only economic, but also cultural and historical significance. Due to these differences, the hunting of people, which is the basis of their existence, will always be rational, not wasteful. While hunting for pleasure, there are serious risks of causing significant damage to nature. This is the reason for the serious control and a large number of restrictions for the implementation of amateur hunting, so that such activities do not go beyond the "legality".

The fight against illegal hunting in Russia has a long history. Even in the "Russian Truth" of Yaroslav the Wise, there is an instruction on the prohibition of hunting wild animals and birds and on the protection of "on-board grooming", i.e. forests inhabited by wild bees ^{[3, p. 15]}. And the first Russian law on hunting was adopted on July 17, 1763. He forbade hunting all animals except predators during the breeding season — from March 1 to June 29. Specific sanctions for violation of the norms fixed by him (a fine of 500 rubles. or confiscation of illegal hunting tools) were introduced much later — in 1831 ^{[4, p. 35]}. As we noted earlier, in this case, the nature of the fight against illegal hunting was more economic in nature. This point of view is also confirmed in other scientific studies ^{[5, p. 98]}. As noted in the literature, the appeal to the legislation and customary legal traditions of pre-revolutionary Russia in the fight against illegal hunting (poaching) is a rich legacy ^{[6, p. 30]}. At the same time, the analysis of hunting from a historical point of view is important for understanding the current model of combating illegal hunting, and the most important aspect of this fight is the prevention of illegal hunting.

R.A. Zabavko identifies three historical stages of legislation dedicated to combating illegal hunting: the initial stage of development of poaching norms (VIII century – the first half of the XIX century); the stage of formation of environmental legislation norms (the second half of the XIX century – the end of the XX century); the modern stage of development of poaching norms (the end of the XX century – the present) ^{[7, p. 25]}.

In the pre-revolutionary period, the fight against illegal hunting was complex. One of the most important stages of this process was the adoption of the Code on Criminal and Correctional Punishments, according to which the police of the Russian Empire were responsible and obliged to monitor the exact execution of hunting laws. Moreover, a special fund was created under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the funds of which were used to strengthen the supervision of hunting activities ^{[4, p. 35]}.

During the Soviet period, responsibility for illegal hunting was also provided for. In Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1960, it is stated that hunting is illegal without proper permission or in prohibited places, or at prohibited times, with prohibited tools and methods, if these actions are committed after the application of administrative penalties. That is, in this case, an administrative penalty was provided for this type of offense. Article 166 also indicated that hunting of animals and birds, hunting of which is completely prohibited, or illegal hunting that caused major damage, or hunting on the territory of a state reserve, or with the use of motor vehicles, is considered illegal (Criminal Code of the RSFSR 1960 // Vedomosti of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. 1960. No. 40. St. 591.).

To effectively combat illegal hunting, it is necessary to apply an integrated approach, including in terms of improving legal means. Law formalizes certain social relations in order to optimize social existence, which contributes to the development of society itself. Being a powerful, fundamental regulator, it acts as a tool for correcting social reality. However, certain provisions of the legislation, unfortunately, do not contribute to the development of society, but rather the opposite. In this case, the opposition between "law" and "law" obviously suggests itself. As G.F. Hegel wrote, "the content of law can be distorted in the process of legislation" ^{[8, p. 525]}.

Legislation regarding the fight against illegal hunting needs to be constantly adjusted to take into account the newly emerging realities in public life. For example, such realities include the virtualization of markets for resources that were obtained through illegal hunting. Moreover, it is important to note that they come true not only through ordinary websites or pages on social networks, but also through the resources of the shadow Internet (darknet). Which also gives criminals a sense of impunity in their illegal "profession." Moreover, the approaches to hunting themselves are changing, the advent of artificial intelligence technologies and highly developed drones allows you to commit crimes while being at a great distance from the actual crime scene.

At the same time, as noted by A.A. Bakumenko and I.A. Sobol, historically, there has been a transformation of the motive underlying the political and legal activity of the legislator in terms of countering illegal hunting. So, if earlier the counteraction to illegal hunting was motivated by the need to protect one's property, today the counteraction to illegal hunting is carried out due to ethical considerations, the need to protect the environment, preserve fauna and restore the population ^{[4, p. 34]}. Previously, legislation regulating relations regarding hunting resources was mostly economic in nature and regulated contractual relations between the State or other owners of resources and entities engaged in hunting for profit. Currently, a large block of legislation is devoted to the rules for the treatment and use of hunting resources in order to preserve them, increase them by themselves and preserve their role in maintaining the stability of ecosystems. The ecological and legal literature notes that, having begun as a way to provide food and clothing, hunting gradually turned into a hobby with the potential for excitement, which calls representatives of all social strata, mainly men, to the forest, fields, and reservoirs ^{[9, p. 117]}.

Turning to a more detailed description of Russian hunting legislation, we note that in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to a favorable environment, everyone is obliged to preserve nature, take care of natural resources, which are the basis for sustainable development, life and activities of peoples living on the territory of the Russian Federation. These legal categories also include wildlife that needs protection. In terms of hunting, the basic regulatory legal act is the Federal Law "On Hunting and on the Conservation of Hunting Resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", which was adopted in 2009 and during this time it has been repeatedly amended.

Some of the amendments were voluminous in nature:

– changes to clarify the formal and substantive aspects of hunting control (production hunting control) in terms of clarifying the procedure for obtaining certain documents, the grounds for obtaining them, and verifying the knowledge of candidates for production hunting inspectors. The rights and specifics of the activities of industrial hunting inspectors were also described in detail (Federal Law No. 201-FZ of July 23, 2013 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Hunting and on the Conservation of Hunting Resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" and the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation"// SZ The Russian Federation. 2013. No. 30 (part I). Article 4034.);

– amendment of a number of provisions of the law on Federal State Hunting Supervision and Industrial Hunting Control (Federal Law No. 242-FZ of July 18, 2011 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Implementation of State Control (supervision) and municipal control" // SZ RF. No. 30. Article 4590.);

– amendments to the law regarding the maintenance, breeding and extraction of hunting resources located in semi-free conditions and artificially created habitat. Clarification of the specifics of the implementation of amateur and sports hunting in relation to hunting resources in semi-free conditions and artificially created habitat, as well as the existence and functioning of hunting infrastructure (Federal Law No. 26-FZ of February 18, 2020 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Hunting and on the Conservation of Hunting Resources and on the Introduction of amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" and the Federal Law "On the Animal World" // SZ RF. No. 8. Article 920.);

– amendments concerning the powers and activities of the federal executive authority responsible for the development of state policy and regulatory regulation in the field of hunting and conservation of hunting resources (Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation) (Federal Law No. 147-FZ dated April 24, 2020 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Federation on issues of control over the effectiveness and quality of the exercise of the powers transferred to the state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation" // SZ RF. No. 17. Article 2725.);

– introduction of new provisions related to the restriction of the extraction of rare and endangered hunting resources in order to preserve rare and endangered hunting resources listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation or the Red Books of the subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as related to the restriction of hunting and the procedure for establishing these restrictions. In addition, procedural issues related to the collection, generalization and analysis of documented information from the state hunting register and the provision of such information to interested parties are also established (Federal Law No. 455-FZ of December 22, 2020 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Wildlife" and the Federal Law "On Hunting and on the Conservation of Hunting Animals resources and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" // The Federal Law of the Russian Federation. No. 52. Article 8601.);

— amendments concerning the transfer of the right to extract hunting resources by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who have concluded hunting agreements, as well as other aspects of the conclusion and execution of hunting agreements (Federal Law No. 164-FZ of June 11, 2021 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Hunting and on the Conservation of Hunting Resources and on Amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" // The Federal Law of the Russian Federation. No. 24. Article 4182.);

— changes related to the procedure for the implementation of federal State hunting control (supervision), clarification of terminology and other procedural aspects (Federal Law No. 170-FZ dated June 11, 2021 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in connection with the Adoption of the Federal Law "On State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control in Of the Russian Federation" // NW of the Russian Federation. No. 24. Article 4188);

– establishment of rules concerning the implementation of life and health insurance of state hunting inspectors carrying out federal State hunting control (supervision) on the territory of a subject of the Russian Federation, as well as other aspects related to their insurance (Federal Law No. 250-FZ of June 13, 2023 "On Amendments to Articles 33 and 40 of the Federal Law "On hunting and on the conservation of hunting resources and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" // SZ RF. 2023. No. 25. St. 4439.).

The remaining amendments to this law were no longer so "voluminous" in nature. As a rule, the amendments concerned the clarification of certain terms, the replacement of words, and other corrections due to the adoption of other Federal laws. Some amendments were due to the clarification of technical aspects, and some contained the decision of the legislator to exclude certain norms from the Federal Law.

It is also worth noting that the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation also played a certain role in the formation of hunting legislation. Thus, in Resolution No. 17-P of June 25, 2015, it was decided to recognize Part 3 of Article 71 of the Federal Law "On Hunting" and on the Conservation of Hunting Resources and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation "not in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, its Articles 9 (Part 1), 19 (parts 1 and 2) and 34 (Part 1), since due to the uncertainty of its normative content, it gives rise to the possibility of ambiguous interpretation and, consequently, arbitrary application of the provisions contained therein (NW RF. 2015. No. 27. St. 4101).

And in Resolution No. 14 of March 30, 2018-The Constitutional Court decided to recognize Part 3 of Article 43 of the Federal Law "On Hunting and Conservation of Hunting Resources and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" as not conforming to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, its articles 9 (Part 1), 19 (Parts 1 and 2), 34 (Part 1), 42 and 58, to the extent that in the system of current legal regulation, the uncertainty of its normative content creates the possibility of an ambiguous solution to the issue of an entity obliged to purchase veterinary medicinal products for antiepizootic measures to protect hunting resources from diseases in fixed hunting grounds, and thereby allows arbitrary assignment of this obligation to various participants in relations in the field hunting economy and conservation of hunting resources (NW of the Russian Federation. 2018. No. 15. St. 2238).

In addition to the special law on hunting, there are a number of related normative legal acts that are important for the topic of this work. These include: Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" dated January 10, 2002 No. 7-FZ (Federal Law of the Russian Federation. 2002. No. 2. Article 133.), Federal Law "On Guarantees of the Rights of Indigenous Small-numbered Peoples of the Russian Federation" dated April 30, 1999 No. 82-FZ (NW RF. 1999. No. 18. St. 2208.), "Forest Code of the Russian Federation" dated December 4, 2006 No. 200-FZ (Federal Law of the Russian Federation. 2006. № 50. № 5278.), Federal Law No. 52-FZ "On the Animal World" dated April 24, 1995 (NW The Russian Federation. 1995. No. 17. St. 1462.), Federal Law "On Weapons" dated December 13, 1996 No. 150-FZ (Federal Law of the Russian Federation. 1996. No. 51. St. 5681.), Federal Law "On Specially Protected Natural Territories" dated March 14, 1995 No. 33-FZ (NW OF THE Russian Federation. 1995. No. 12. St. 1024.).

It should also be borne in mind the acts of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, which adopts its acts on the basis of the powers granted to it by law, in particular chapters 5-8 of the Federal Law on Hunting.

– Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation dated January 20, 2011 No. 13 "On approval of the Procedure for issuing and canceling a hunting ticket of a single federal sample, the form of a hunting ticket" (The text of the order was not officially published);

– Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation dated April 23, 2010 No. 121 (ed. dated 08/19/2013) "On approval of the procedure for issuing permits for the extraction of hunting resources and the form of the permit form for the extraction of hunting resources" (Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2010. № 138.);

– Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation dated June 30, 2011 No. 568 "On approval of the Requirements of the hunting minimum (The text of the order has not been officially published), etc.

To date, the fight against illegal hunting is also carried out through the application of legal liability measures. Persons engaged in illegal hunting are held administratively and criminally liable, depending on the specific circumstances of their misconduct. At the same time, it is worth noting that the legislation establishing liability for illegal hunting is of a blank nature.

The Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation in Article 8.37 provides for liability for violation of hunting rules, rules governing fishing and other types of use of wildlife objects. These rules are provided for by Order No. 477 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation dated July 24, 2020 "On Approval of Hunting Rules". And in Part 3 establishes liability for violation of the rules governing the types of use of the animal world, with the exception of hunting and fishing (including the extraction of aquatic invertebrates and marine mammals, which are established by Federal Law, or rather part of it, in Chapter V of the Federal Law "On the Animal World" dated April 24, 1995 No. 52-FZ, which is devoted to issues related to the use of the animal world, including the types and methods of using the animal world, as well as the conditions for using the animal world.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability for illegal hunting (Article 258). The objective side of the crime consists in carrying out illegal hunting, i.e. the extraction of wild animals, committed contrary to the established rules (without appropriate permission, outside the hunting season, etc.), under circumstances, an exhaustive list of which is included in Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The hunting rules describe in detail the duties of the hunter, the deviation from which gives it an illegal character ^{[10, p. 16]}. In the note to Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, reference is made to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 10, 2019 No. 750 "On approval of taxes and methods for calculating large and especially large damage for the purposes of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation". If we talk about the sanctions provided for the commission of this crime, then they include a fine, correctional labor and imprisonment.

For a correct interpretation of the application of this article of the Criminal Code, it is also necessary to refer to the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 18, 2012 No. 21 "On the application by courts of legislation on liability for violations in the field of environmental protection and nature management", which, among other things, is devoted to the qualification of illegal hunting and certain aspects related to the consideration of this category of cases.

As indicated in the Review of the Practice of applying the provisions of Chapter 26 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on Environmental Crimes by the courts (approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on June 24, 2022), 906 persons, or 5.2%, were convicted of illegal hunting under Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (2019 – 338 persons, 2020 – 255 persons, 2021 – 313 persons). According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 1928 crimes under Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation were registered in 2015, 1906 in 2016, 1936 in 2017, 1931 in 2018, 2019 – 1824, 2020 – 1664, 2021 – 1547 ^{[11, p. 72]}. When comparing these data with indicators from the media, there is a big difference, which indicates a high latency of this type of crime. This is also confirmed by scientists. Thus, A.S. Kurmanov argues that researchers have noted a high latency of this type of crime, amounting to 97-99% of the number of crimes committed. Thus, in order to get a real picture of the number of crimes committed (100%) provided for in Article 258 of the Criminal Code, it is necessary to increase the available official data given above by 50 times, based on the fact that the average latency is 98% (97-99%), i.e. only 2% of crimes are actually registered perfect ^{[12, p. 48]}.

It is obvious that today it is advisable to update strategies to combat illegal hunting. Unlike some other types of crimes, the fight against illegal hunting also requires significant financial, human and time resources. In addition to the revision of hunting legislation, it is necessary to convey the importance of protecting natural resources, including the protection of wildlife, to the legal consciousness of citizens. It should be recognized that illegal hunting is currently not perceived by most of the population as a serious threat to national security. However, it should be borne in mind that the consequences of illegal hunting are long-term and delayed. By disrupting ecosystems and exterminating rare animal species, humanity poses serious threats to environmental security, which is an important aspect of national security. Thus, the National Security Strategy, as one of the tasks to be solved within the framework of ensuring environmental safety, specifies "the conservation of biological diversity of natural ecosystems and the development of a system of specially protected natural territories, the protection and reproduction of forests, as well as wildlife, including aquatic biological resources" (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated July 2 2021 No. 400 "On the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation" // Federal Law of the Russian Federation. 2021. No. 27 (Part II). Article 5351.).

It is impossible not to mention the importance of international cooperation in the field of combating crime. International cooperation in combating illegal hunting is one of the key aspects of protecting biodiversity and protecting ecosystems of various States. The global crisis threatening unique species requires the combined efforts of countries and international organizations to effectively counter criminal encroachments.

Each destroyed individual is the loss of a part of the ecological fabric that weaves the ecosystem of the whole world and is able to support the vital activity of future generations. The conclusion of international agreements and cooperation agreements makes it possible to create common standards for the protection of wildlife, exchange data and technologies, and strengthen control over cross-border hunting. In our opinion, it is advisable to establish a separate body that would deal with issues of countering illegal hunting on the basis of the EAEU or SCO or BRICS. In general, the authority may be engaged in broader environmental issues, but the need for such an instance, in our opinion, is unconditional.

Speaking about methods of combating illegal hunting, it is impossible not to touch upon the issue of the causes of this phenomenon. It is obvious that the motives of criminals in most cases are selfish. Poachers are deliberately engaged in trapping and killing animals in order to extract significant profits through sales in segments of the shadow economy within the framework of the black market. The State must create conditions in which illegal hunting will become an extremely unprofitable and high-risk occupation. In our opinion, it is advisable to step up work in various directions for this purpose:

– difficulty in the process of selling items obtained as a result of illegal hunting;

– development of international cooperation in the investigation of crimes of this type, as well as the extradition of criminals who committed these crimes;

– expansion of territories with a special status;

– increased sanctions for illegal hunting;

–the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies in the monitoring of offenses and crimes related to illegal hunting.

The media also notes a number of problems, the solution of which will optimize the fight against illegal hunting. Thus, it is indicated that the persons exercising state supervision over the activities of hunters, the so-called first persons fighting "on the ground" against illegal hunting, lack sufficient technical equipment. "In fact, the equipment of inspectors often loses out to the expensive equipment of professional poachers," the article says (Litvinova M. Forest Wars: how illegal hunting is being fought in Russia // Izvestia [Electronic resource]: URL: https://iz.ru/1050602/marta-litvinova/lesnye-voiny-kak-v-rossii-boriutsia-s-nezakonnoi-okhotoi (date of application: 07/28/2024).

Thus, the problem of preventing illegal hunting is complex and requires an integrated approach when studying it. It is not enough to resort solely to economic considerations, it is important to take into account philosophical and ethical aspects that emphasize the importance of preserving wildlife and its populations. It is important to note that the fight against illegal hunting has a historical continuity and was carried out in various periods, starting from Ancient Russia. Today, the fight against illegal hunting is an inconspicuous process. However, despite its invisibility, it is of strategic importance and is a kind of "duty" of the current generation of people to future generations. To combat illegal hunting, it is necessary to implement comprehensive measures, including strengthening legislative regulation, the use of new technologies for monitoring and protecting wildlife (including using artificial intelligence technologies), as well as active cooperation between various levels and areas of public authority.