Be sure to not let the unwanted passenger get away Fortunately, a large animal cannot fit in a suitcase, but some smaller animals, such as a scorpion, gecko, smaller reptile, cockroach, snail, or spider may accidentally hide in a bag and travel to Estonia. What should I do if I get back home from a trip and find an unwanted passenger in my bag? If you think the animal that accidentally ended up in...

It is not necessary to call the Estonian Rescue Board when you see a snake in the garden. You should give the reptile a chance to leave – it will do so quickly It is not necessary to call the Estonian Rescue Board when you see a snake in the garden. You should give the reptile a chance to leave – it will do so quickly. In the future, however, it is worth taking some measures to prevent snakes from...

It is better for nature if you do not buy exotic goods for which it is not known whether any endangered animal or plant was used to produce them When travelling to an exotic country, it is worth taking the time to find out which products can cause trouble with local law enforcement agencies and which can create a hassle in customs. Among other things, you should look at the limits set by CITES...

The primary purpose of hunting is no longer to stockpile meat and hides Wild game is a wild animal – a mammal or bird that lives freely in the wild. Game is a wild game whose meat, hide, or other parts are consumed and whose hunting is permitted by hunting rules [1]. The current Hunting Act, in turn, divides game into big and small game. Big game includes the moose, red deer, roe deer, wild boar...

A person who knows better does not bring alien species to Estonia. The Ministry of the Environment must be notified immediately of any alien species released into or discovered in the wild Species know no borders, so preventing the spread of alien species must be addressed at individual, national, and international levels. At the international level, a number of conventions and agreements deal...

The state pays a number of grants and compensations for the protection and conservation of nature. Some of them are operating grants, some are compensations for not managing communities In order to protect nature, several subsidies and compensations are paid in Estonia from both the state budget and European Union (EU) funds. These include operating grants (e.g. support for the maintenance of semi...

The protection of an endangered species alone will not increase its abundance. Conservation action is also needed The effectiveness of species protection is demonstrated by the Red List, which lets us know which species are doing poorly and which have improved. Examples of success stories According to 1988 data, the common crane was rare in Estonia. Today, however, it is in the ‘least concern’...

A growing concern about the quality of landscapes and insufficient measures for landscape management led the European Conference of Local and Regional Authorities to approve the proposal to develop a landscape convention draft in 1994. After years of preparation, the European Landscape Convention was adopted in Florence on 20 October 2000. The convention entered into force four years later, when...

Restrictions are necessary to ensure the safe migration of fish to spawning grounds, spawning peace, the protection of undersized fish, and the conservation of endangered species Catch restrictions are set to ensure that fish stocks are in good condition and that the conditions for spawning, or producing the next generation, are as good as possible. Restrictions are therefore imposed to not...

As of 2025, 570 species are protected in Estonia Based on their endangerment, protected species are divided into three protected categories on the basis of the Nature Conservation Act . Protected category I species are at high risk of extinction and the exact details of their habitats or sites are not disclosed in the media. This category includes, for example, all Estonian eagle species, the...