From field to database: a review of practices of hunting bag data collection, obstacles and solutions across European countries

This technical report offers a comprehensive evaluation of hunting bag data collection systems across Europe, focusing on wild boar, ruminants, and carnivores. The report investigates national frameworks, institutional practices, data quality, and technological infrastructures, with the aim of identifying barriers to data harmonisation and proposing solutions for improved transnational wildlife monitoring. Drawing on empirical insights from 18 countries, the report exposes significant heterogeneity in legal mandates, reporting frequency, data granularity, and digital maturity. It identifies critical issues including fragmented governance, socio-cultural reporting biases, resolution loss, and a lack of standardised metadata protocols. The report compares these systems with the SIGMA model used in animal health surveillance and suggests that the legal, technical, and institutional architecture of SIGMA provides a viable template for a pan-European hunting data system. It concludes with a proposed model for an EU-wide automated submission platform, advocating for coordinated legal frameworks, harmonised data standards, and integrated digital infrastructure to support evidence-based wildlife management and biodiversity conservation