ST. PETERSBURG, May 27 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) - The Constitutional Court of Russia will hand down its ruling in a case over deer stalking quotas for indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North on May 28, RAPSI has learnt from the court’s press service.

Applicant, ethnic dolgan Gennady Shchukin, has challenged ban on the quotas transfer by disabled representatives of indigenous minorities of the North to their relatives. In his complaint, he has asked the Constitutional Court to check certain provisions of the federal law on hunting and preservation of hunting resources.

Shchukin is a clan chairman and president of the local Public association of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North in the Krasnoyarsk Krai’s Taymyr Dolgano-Nenets district.

In September 2014, he offered clan chairs to shoot wild reindeers entrusting huntsmen with deerhunting in the amount meant for all members of the community taking into consideration that the quota is 8 deers per person. According to case papers, hunters killed 217 species, and devolution of the hunting common limits stirred up law enforcement discontent.

The applicant and other shooting participants were found guilty of illegal hunting committed by an organized group in conspiracy and were fined. Shchukin received a 120,000-ruble fine (about $2,000). However, all of them were released from punishment due to an amnesty.

Shchukin turned to the Constitutional Court. He claims that current legislation strips those dolgans, who do not have a hunting permit or ability to hunt by themselves for health reasons, as well as children and elderly persons of the right to deer stalking quotas.

The dolgans are Turkic people mostly inhabiting Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Krai.