Minister of the Environment Thórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir announced this week that the ptarmigan hunting season will be shortened to 18 days, Thursdays through Sundays, in November.
Iceland’s Museum of Natural History recommends that a maximum of 38,000 birds be killed, so if there are 5,000 hunters, each would be allotted roughly seven ptarmigans, ruv.is reports.
Sveinbjarnardóttir made her decision according to an evaluation by the Museum of Natural History and the Environment and Food Agency of Iceland on how much hunting the ptarmigan stock can withstand.
Hunters are not permitted to sell their prey or ptarmigan products and while hunting, they will probably be observed by authorities from both air and land.
Ptarmigan is a traditional Christmas dinner in Iceland.
