Russia’s hunting department assumes oversight of endangered animals, putting multiple rare species at risk

Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has transferred responsibility for maintaining the country’s Red Data Book — its official list of endangered species — to the Hunting Department, according to a report by the business publication RBC. The move coincided with a change in leadership for the department: its new director, Tatyana Aramileva, is known for lobbying to remove certain species from the protected list.

According to RBC, which cited internal ministry documents along with two sources who have knowledge of the matter, oversight of the Red Data Book was reassigned to the Hunting Department in late May.

Previously, the responsibility for classifying endangered species had been the responsibility of the Department of State Policy and Regulation in the Sphere of Specially Protected Natural Areas. The new arrangement gives the Hunting Department authority to add and remove species from the list, monitor populations, and manage related data.

Aramileva assumed her new post around the time the change was made. Prior to leading the Hunting Department, she had served for 12 years as president of the Russian Hunting and Fishing Union (Rosokhotrybolovsoyuz), an association overseeing hunting and fishing communities across the country.

Aramileva has repeatedly criticized the very concept of the Red Data Book and the commission of experts responsible for maintaining it. Speaking at a recent legal forum in St. Petersburg, she used the following phrase: “Hunting is the most effective means of protecting rare and endangered species.” She argued that the Red Data Book is a passive tool for protecting biodiversity, while hunting is an active one.

The new department head has long supported the removal of certain species from the list and opposed adding new ones. As a result, the updated edition of the Red Data Book released in 2017 excluded 16 species previously classified as endangered, including the Asian black bear, several subspecies of reindeer, grey geese and ducks, the Caucasian red deer, and the European turtle dove.

In 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources proposed new hunting regulations that would allow the killing of brown and Asian black bears during periods of hibernation. Environmental outlet Kedr reported at the time that Aramileva was among the key lobbyists backing the proposal.

Russia's Red Data Book (“Krasnaya Kniga”) is the country's official state document listing endangered and protected species of animals, plants, and fungi. It serves as a tool for conservation policy and the protection of biodiversity. The book originated from Soviet-era conservation efforts in the 1960s and was inspired by the global Red List, which is maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Russia’s edition is both federal and regional, as some parts of the country maintain their own supplementary Red Books.