OREANDA-NEWS. April 13, 2010. No.209-FZ Federal Law "On Hunting and Preserving Hunting Resources and on Introducing Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" (the "Law on Hunting") came into force on 1st April 2010. The Law is aimed at regularizing hunting relations in the Russian Federation at the federal level, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

A number of provisions of the "Law on Hunting" are designed to improve antimonopoly regulation and facilitate development of competition in the market of hunting services.

Part 1 Article 10 of the "Law on Hunting" prohibits monopolistic activities and unfair competition in the field of hunting and preserving hunting resources.

The "Law on Hunting" specifies that each constituent territory of the Russian Federation should have no less than 20% of public hunting land, where physical persons are free to use for hunting.

The long-term rights for use of animals, acquired by legal entities, or individual entrepreneurs on the basis of long-term licenses for hunting issued prior to the "Law on Hunting" coming into effect, are valid until their licenses expire. Such long term licenses cannot be prolonged.

Also, the "Law on Hunting" does not give any priority for animal provision, specified earlier in the Federal Law "On Fauna".

Under the "Law on Hunting", plots of land and forest divisions and the right to hunt within the boundaries of hunting areas are provided under a hunting agreement between en executive body of a constituent territory of the Russian Federation and the winner of an auction for the right to enter into such an agreement.

In the FAS Russia's opinion, introduction of auctions increases the level of transparency ad objectivity of the procedures for granting the right fir offering such hunting, and, accordingly, is aimed at combating corruption in the industry in general.