Hunting in Norway

[Savage]

With an area of 385,155 km2, Norway's wide variety of natural habitats supports an abundant fauna and offers opportunities for many different kinds of hunting.

Important species of game

There are good stocks of moose (Alces alces), red deer (Cervus elaphus), wild reindeer (Rangifer rangifer) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). The most sought after gallinaceous birds are willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus), ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus), black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), capercaillie (Tetrao
urogallus) and hazel hen (Testrastes bonasis). Waders, ducks, geese and sea birds are plentiful in some areas. The hare (Lepus timitus) is the most popular species of small game, but beavers (Castor fiber) can also be hunted in some parts of the country.

Hunting rights

Land in Norway is either state-owned or private. ( comment:Now in Finnmark, owned by Finnmark Forvaltning, partially controlled by the Samething) Landowners have the sole hunting and trapping rights on their land. State-owned land is classified either as common land or "other
state-owned land". Common land is a feature of southern Norway, from Nord-Trøndelag to the south; other state-owned land is primarily in northern Norway.

COMMON LAND

All small-game and wild reindeer hunting on state-owned common land is reserved for persons who have resided in Norway for the past year and are still resident. However, anyone, including non-resident foreign nationals, may apply for permits to hunt elk, red deer, roe deer and beaver. The directorate for State Forests and Land is responsible for this hunting and the processing of applications.
Persons who have resided in Norway for the past year and are still resident have an equal right to engage in small-game hunting without a dog. People who are not local residents are now permitted to engage in both small-game hunting with a dog and wild reindeer hunting on many areas of common land. Persons who have resided for the past year in the municipality where the common land concerned is situated, and still reside there, nevertheless have first priority to such hunting.

Municipal Common Land Boards have responsibility for small-game and wild reindeer hunting on common land.

OTHER STATE-OWNED LAND

Norwegians and all persons who have resided in Norway for the past year and are still resident are permitted to engage in small-game hunting and trapping on other kinds of state-owned land, which are mostly found in the three northernmost counties.
Foreign nationals not resident in Norway can apply for permission to hunt small and big game. The Directorate for State Forests and Land is responsible for this hunting and the processing of applications.

PRIVATELY-OWNED LAND

Owners of private land may, individually or jointly, let their hunting rights to others, including foreign nationals. The best access to small-game hunting on private land is normally in areas where the sale of hunting permits has been organised through landowners' associations or local hunting and fishing societies. Hunting rights for small game in a given area can be hired out exclusively for longer or shorter periods, but this is more expensive than the ordinary sale of hunting permits.

LAND BORDERING ON BODIES OF WATER

On rivers and lakes, the hunting and trapping rights of a landowner extend as far as his or her property rights. Bordering on the sea or a fjord, they extend to the limit of dry land.
Norwegians and all persons who have resided in Norway for the past year and are still resident are permitted to engage in hunting, trapping and shooting beyond this limit, and generally also on shoals and skerries submerged at normal high tide. The Governor of the respective county may in individual cases give foreign nationals not resident in Norway permission to engage in such hunting.

Conditions for hunting in Norway

HUNTING PROFICIENCY TEST

All persons aged 16 or over who are not listed on the Norwegian Register of Hunters must pass a hunting proficiency test before hunting or trapping. Persons resident abroad need not take the test provided they satisfy the
conditions for engaging in the same type of hunting in their home country (place of residence). Further information regarding the hunting proficiency test may be obtained from the Directorate for Nature Management or the
relevant local or district authorities.

AGE LIMITS

Applicants may take the hunting proficiency test from their 14th birthday.
The minimum age for small-game hunting is 16; for larger game, 18, and for trapping, 16 (except lynx trapping, for which the age limit is 18).

HUNTING LICENCE FEE

Persons intending to hunt in Norway must pay a hunting licence fee to the Wildlife Fund. The fee is for the full hunting year, from 1 April to 31 March. Payment of the fee is a prerequisite for hunting, but does not confer the right to hunt in any specific area. Foreign nationals resident abroad can obtain a Norwegian hunting licence by sending documentation of their previous hunting experience to the Norwegian Register of Hunters at Brønnøysund. Foreign nationals who have hunted previously can document this by means of permits, licences or the like. This documentation should be sent to the Register of Hunters in good time before the date on which they intend to start hunting.

HUNTING PERMIT

No hunting is allowed without the landowner’s permission. Landowners are entitled to demand payment for the right to hunt, either by selling permits, or by letting the land.

Importing firearms

To obtain permission to bring firearms into Norway, a foreign national must on entry show the Customs authorities the gun licence required in his home country. At the same time, he or she must fill in a prescribed customs declaration form, stating their name and address, age if under 21, the type, calibre, trade mark and number of the firearm, the quantity and type of ammunition, what the firearm is to be used for and where in Norway it is to be used. The declaration is certified by the Customs authorities and is then valid as a gun licence for a period of three months.


Only shotguns with up to two cartridges, and rifles, are allowed in small-game
hunting.

Source

[svin]

There is nice Knut Hamsun's novel "Pan" about Norwegian hunter that takes place in Northern Norway. Highly recommended.