Aleksandr Lukashenko holds meeting with Yuri Shumsky, Nikolai Bambiza

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko heard out a report from Yuri Shumsky, Chairman of the national public association Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society, and Nikolai Bambiza, First Deputy Chairman of the association, on 10 February.

“You and me agreed several months ago that you will submit your opinion regarding future operation of the Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society. Primarily due to the multiple drawbacks involved in the operation of the organization. I expected your proposals regarding these drawbacks,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The President emphasized that the Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society should play a more prominent role in the country.

“First, hunting and fishing are parts of tourism. If a tourist comes to Belarus, he or she will not come for recreation only. Maybe more than half of them are willing to go hunting or fishing and so on. An economic component is involved. Therefore, we cannot let the things that happened in the past in the organization to continue. We cannot waste and carelessly treat the nation’s legacy. It is even worse when things reach the criminal stage. You should have seen it while studying the situation in the organization,” said the head of state. He reminded that the new chairman was supposed to deal with personnel issues and decide who would stay.

Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out the Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society accounts for 60% of the country’s hunting lands.

The head of state said he wanted information about problems in this area and suggestions regarding its development.

The head of state urged the Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society to cooperate with the State Fauna and Flora Inspection under the President. “You should establish partnership relations for the benefit of the society and our state,” said the President.

The head of state was also informed about the performance of the Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society in 2011 and plans for the future.

The President urged to improve the effectiveness of hunting farms and the rational use of natural resources. The Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society comprises 104 hunting farms with about 900 employees.

The head of state also pointed out the need to develop foreign hunting tourism in Belarus and the need to attract fans of hunting. Yuri Shumsky informed Aleksandr Lukashenko that last year the Belarusian Hunters and Fishermen Society earned about €700,000, twice as much as in 2010.