At the sitting held on 3 March, the members of the Agriculture Committee discussed in principle the Bill on Wild Game and Hunting, submitted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute’s Information on the conditions and problems of anti-hail protection.

The sitting was attended by Dragan Injac, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and associates, representatives of the Hunting Association of Serbia and Milan Dacic, Director of the Serbian Republic Hydrometeorological Institute.

The representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and representatives of the Hunting Association of Serbia outlined the basic legal tenets and innovations introduced by the Bill on Wild Game and Hunting. They emphasised that the drafting of the Bill was guided by the principle of sustainable development and development of hunting grounds. The Bill was harmonised with eleven international regulations, domestic and EU legislation. The Bill eliminates the flaws of the current law dating from 1993. It regulates the protection, breeding and hunting of wild game aiming to establish a more modern system of hunting. The Bill introduces the following new principles: wild game is state property and under the protection of the state, drafting of a Hunting Development Strategy, introduction of a budgetary fund for hunting, institution of hunting areas, introduction of the term of hunting grounds as a whole for wild game breeding and special purpose hunting grounds, institution of a hunting grounds cadastre, creation of a hunting chamber, licensing of hunting activities, definition of individual right to hunting and marking hunted wild game. They stressed that hunting associations took active part in the drafting of the Bill.

In the discussion, the Committee members exchanged opinions on the specific solutions, implementation of the law in practice, criticised the manner in which the Hunting Association of Serbia submitted amendment proposals to the deputies and announced the submission of amendments to improve the proposed legal solution.

After the debate, the Committee did not accept the Bill on Wild Game and Hunting (five deputies voted in favour, four abstained, while one voted against). Deputies Zoran Masic, Zoran Nikolic and Milorad Krstin reserved their opinions.

In the continuation, the Committee members were briefed on the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute’s (RHMZ) Information on the conditions and problems of anti-hail protection. The Information was presented by the RHMZ Director who also informed the Committee members on the institution’s purview, as well as on its staff and material and technical problems. In his address he stressed that anti-hail protection in Serbia is implemented over 7,750,800 hectares, 66% of which is agricultural land. Anti-hail rockets are launched from 1650 sites in the country. The purchase of 4500 rockets is currently in progress for this season that starts on 15 April, and to ensure efficient anti-hail protection in 2010, it is necessary to acquire additional 7000 rockets worth about 200 million RSD.

In the debate, the Committee members discussed the quality of rockets made by certain manufacturers in Serbia, the way to secure the funds for the purchase of additional 7000 anti-hail rockets and the service’s ability to function until the beginning of the season. The Committee deemed that it has started the debate on the issue on time and it also supported RHMZ to resolve the issue of employee rationalisation.

The Committee members unanimously concluded the following: 1) the Committee requests that the Government and the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture grant 200 million RSD from the budgetary reserves for the purchase of 7000 anti-hail rockets, and that the procurement be done in line with the Law on Public Procurements by the beginning of the season, 2) the Committee requests from the Government and the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government that the rationalisation of the number of employees in RHMZ be implemented like in any other institution affected by the law regulating the issue, the Committee does not accept the high cut-back of employees in the anti-hail sector, the Committee proposes that HMZS, the Government and Ministry of Interior, in line with the Law on Emergency Situations, find a solution for the employees that would lose their jobs due to rationalisation, 3)the Committee proposes that the Government and RHMZ prepare a draft law on meteorological and hydrometeorological activities and forward them to general discussion in three months at the latest, 4) the Committee obligates the RHMZ to adequately train all the staff at anti-hail stations and secure all other technical means to ensure efficient anti-hail protection, to pay the employees’ fees from the allocated budgetary means and partly from local self-government funds, as well as to find a way to include insurance companies into the anti-hail protection support process.

By the end of the sitting the Committee also discussed several proposals made by citizens and associations and forwarded them to the competent assembly committees and ministries into further procedure.

The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Zoran Masic.