The plenary session of the Mongolian National Assembly convened today, March 27, 2025, to discuss proposed amendments to the Law on Animals, submitted by MP O.Amgalanbaatar.
MP O.Amgalanbaatar explained that since the adoption of the Law on Animals in 2012, a legal framework has been in place for the conservation, sustainable use, and management of wildlife populations. These efforts are based on studies assessing species composition, distribution, and population trends, with regular updates to Mongolia’s wildlife database.
A study conducted by the Institute of Biology at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences reported that in 1986, more than 30,000 wolves inhabited 18 provinces across Mongolia. However, no nationwide research has been conducted on wolf populations since then. Under Article 28 of the Law on Animals, citizens may hunt non-endangered wildlife for personal use by obtaining a permit from the local soum governor and paying the required fee.
According to Government Resolution No. 260 on the Ecological and Economic Assessment of Animals for 2023, the value of a wolf hunting permit has been determined as follows: 20 percent of the ecological and economic value of a wolf is set at MNT 226,000, while the permit fee is 2%, equaling MNT 22,600. As a result, the total cost of a hunting permit is MNT 248,600.
Challenges of the current system:
Short Permit Validity – The permit is valid for only five days. If hunters fail to capture a wolf within this period, they must return to the soum center to reapply for a permit.
Difficult Access for Herders – Many herders struggle to obtain hunting permits due to bureaucratic obstacles.
Increased Risk to Herders – Traditionally, herders hunted wolves collectively, and the hunter who made the kill was rewarded with a sheep. Today, due to high fines for unauthorized wolf hunting, herders are left vulnerable to wolf attacks on their livestock.
Under the current law, the ecological and economic value of a wolf is set at MNT 1.13 million. Hunting a wolf without a permit results in a fine under the Law on Violations, along with an additional MNT 2.2 million compensation under the Law on Environmental Protection. The proposed amendment seeks to remove the permit requirement for hunting wolves when done to protect human life or livestock. During public discussions, more than 5,000 citizens supported this provision and signed in favor of it.
A.Ariunzaya, Member of Parliament, expressed concerns about excessive hunting, warning that wolves have already reached the brink of extinction. On the other hand, she noted reports on social media of herders in western Mongolia resorting to fighting wolves with their bare hands. She argued that this reflects deep-rooted beliefs among Mongolian men, who consider encountering a wolf to be a sign of luck and hunting one to bring even greater fortune. She also pointed out that some people take pride in their kills, sharing images online, displaying wolf pelts on their cars, and even hunting wolves by helicopter. If the process for obtaining permits is not simplified, she warned that people may continue hunting wolves illegally for superstitious reasons.
O.Amgalanbaatar, Member of Parliament, recalled that between 2000 and 2012, Mongolia’s wolf population declined significantly because of high demand from Chinese buyers, who paid up to MNT 2 million for a frozen wolf carcass. However, he argued that attitudes toward wolf hunting are changing and that lifting the permit requirement for protection purposes would not lead to widespread killings.
S.Odontuya, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, referred to a 2004 study by the Institute of Biology, which estimated Mongolia’s wolf population at approximately 10,000. She noted that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the gray wolf as “potentially endangered” and emphasized the species’ role in maintaining ecological balance. She pointed out that some countries have over hunted their wolves to the point of extinction and are now reintroducing them from abroad. The proposed amendment, she clarified, includes only one change: waiving the permit requirement when wolves are hunted to protect human life or livestock.
S.Byambatsogt, the Minister of Defense, noted that wolves have largely disappeared from Mongolia’s eastern and Gobi regions but have increased in number in the western provinces. Herders in these areas face growing difficulties in protecting their livestock, which is their main source of livelihood.
While current regulations require them to obtain permission from the soum governor before hunting a wolf, he stressed the urgent need for more flexible measures. Minister S.Odontuya, however, defended the existing restrictions on wolf hunting in the eastern and Gobi regions, stating that they remain necessary for conservation efforts.
The plenary session of the Mongolian National Assembly convened today, March 27, 2025, to discuss proposed amendments to the Law on Animals, submitted by MP O.Amgalanbaatar.
MP O.Amgalanbaatar explained that since the adoption of the Law on Animals in 2012, a legal framework has been in place for the conservation, sustainable use, and management of wildlife populations. These efforts are based on studies assessing species composition, distribution, and population trends, with regular updates to Mongolia’s wildlife database.
A study conducted by the Institute of Biology at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences reported that in 1986, more than 30,000 wolves inhabited 18 provinces across Mongolia. However, no nationwide research has been conducted on wolf populations since then. Under Article 28 of the Law on Animals, citizens may hunt non-endangered wildlife for personal use by obtaining a permit from the local soum governor and paying the required fee.
According to Government Resolution No. 260 on the Ecological and Economic Assessment of Animals for 2023, the value of a wolf hunting permit has been determined as follows: 20 percent of the ecological and economic value of a wolf is set at MNT 226,000, while the permit fee is 2%, equaling MNT 22,600. As a result, the total cost of a hunting permit is MNT 248,600.
Challenges of the current system:
Short Permit Validity – The permit is valid for only five days. If hunters fail to capture a wolf within this period, they must return to the soum center to reapply for a permit.
Difficult Access for Herders – Many herders struggle to obtain hunting permits due to bureaucratic obstacles.
Increased Risk to Herders – Traditionally, herders hunted wolves collectively, and the hunter who made the kill was rewarded with a sheep. Today, due to high fines for unauthorized wolf hunting, herders are left vulnerable to wolf attacks on their livestock.
Under the current law, the ecological and economic value of a wolf is set at MNT 1.13 million. Hunting a wolf without a permit results in a fine under the Law on Violations, along with an additional MNT 2.2 million compensation under the Law on Environmental Protection. The proposed amendment seeks to remove the permit requirement for hunting wolves when done to protect human life or livestock. During public discussions, more than 5,000 citizens supported this provision and signed in favor of it.
A.Ariunzaya, Member of Parliament, expressed concerns about excessive hunting, warning that wolves have already reached the brink of extinction. On the other hand, she noted reports on social media of herders in western Mongolia resorting to fighting wolves with their bare hands. She argued that this reflects deep-rooted beliefs among Mongolian men, who consider encountering a wolf to be a sign of luck and hunting one to bring even greater fortune. She also pointed out that some people take pride in their kills, sharing images online, displaying wolf pelts on their cars, and even hunting wolves by helicopter. If the process for obtaining permits is not simplified, she warned that people may continue hunting wolves illegally for superstitious reasons.
O.Amgalanbaatar, Member of Parliament, recalled that between 2000 and 2012, Mongolia’s wolf population declined significantly because of high demand from Chinese buyers, who paid up to MNT 2 million for a frozen wolf carcass. However, he argued that attitudes toward wolf hunting are changing and that lifting the permit requirement for protection purposes would not lead to widespread killings.
S.Odontuya, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, referred to a 2004 study by the Institute of Biology, which estimated Mongolia’s wolf population at approximately 10,000. She noted that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the gray wolf as “potentially endangered” and emphasized the species’ role in maintaining ecological balance. She pointed out that some countries have over hunted their wolves to the point of extinction and are now reintroducing them from abroad. The proposed amendment, she clarified, includes only one change: waiving the permit requirement when wolves are hunted to protect human life or livestock.
S.Byambatsogt, the Minister of Defense, noted that wolves have largely disappeared from Mongolia’s eastern and Gobi regions but have increased in number in the western provinces. Herders in these areas face growing difficulties in protecting their livestock, which is their main source of livelihood.
While current regulations require them to obtain permission from the soum governor before hunting a wolf, he stressed the urgent need for more flexible measures. Minister S.Odontuya, however, defended the existing restrictions on wolf hunting in the eastern and Gobi regions, stating that they remain necessary for conservation efforts.