Mavrovo National Park under scrutiny after video shows hunters killing wild chamois

The civil organization ‘Eco Awareness’ has raised alarms following a video showing foreign hunters killing wild chamois in the mountains of North Macedonia. The footage, which surfaced on a YouTube channel titled ‘Pedro Ampuero’s Hunting Adventures’, depicts hunters using optical sights and subsequently collecting blood from a killed animal to drink from a thermos.

Observers noted that a vehicle marked with Mavrovo National Park insignia was accompanying the hunters. Environmentalists argue this incident highlights a critical legal vacuum within the park, which remains the only national park in the country that has not undergone legal reclassification or established a formal management plan.

Twenty civil organizations have submitted a letter to the Government and the Ministry of Environment, demanding an immediate moratorium on activities that conflict with nature protection. They are calling for the urgent completion of the park’s reclassification process and the adoption of a revalorization study that was prepared two years ago but has reportedly been stalled by the current park administration.