One of the oldest hunting associations in Serbia and Vojvodina is undoubtedly the Novi Bečej Hunting Association, founded on October 1, 1885. Proof of this can be found in the adopted Statute (a copy of which still exists), confirmed at the founding Assembly held in Novi Bečej on that very date.
Zoran (Aritona) Ristić was born on October 19, 1956, in Karavukovo, Municipality of Odžaci. He completed elementary school in his hometown in 1971 and graduated from the Forestry High School in Kraljevo in 1975. In 1980, he earned his degree from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Belgrade.
The municipality of Novi Bečej is located in the northeastern part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in the northwestern Banat region, within the Banat Potisje area. In addition to Novi Bečej itself, the municipality includes three more settlements: Novo Miloševo, Bočar, and Kumane.
According to archaeological research, human settlements existed in this area as early as 3000 BC. The oldest and best-studied sites are Borđoš, southwest, and Matejski Brod, northeast of Novi Bečej. From the medieval period, the best-preserved monument is Arača, located about 12 km towards Novo Miloševo. This monastery dates back to the 11th century and represents the original location of Vranjevo.
The Nature Park “Old Tisa” near Biserno Ostrvo covers an area of 391 ha, of which 6% is under the second level of protection, while the rest is under the third level. The protected area includes three municipalities: Bečej, Novi Bečej, and Žabalj.
In terms of the number of inhabitants, the settlement has not experienced major changes over the past 130 years. In 1869, the first census was conducted, recording 14,423 inhabitants, while the most recent census in 2002 registered 14,406 inhabitants.
Among the main economic sectors of the municipality, agriculture and industry dominate, while in recent years increasing attention has been directed toward transportation, trade, hospitality, and tourism.
Novi Bečej is a compact settlement of the Pannonian type. The town’s territory does not have a regular geometric shape but stretches along the Tisa River, following its flow. The widest part of the town extends from the center eastward, reaching the railway station.
The plant life in the municipality of Novi Bečej is characterized by steppe vegetation typical of the Pannonian Plain, with distinct features of the Banat region along the Tisa River. However, as in most of Vojvodina, the natural vegetation has largely been replaced by cultivated crops.
The Novi Bečej Hunting Society was officially founded on October 1, 1885, at the inaugural Assembly, where the first Statute of the society was adopted. Evidence of its establishment is preserved in the archive in Budapest (document number 57965/111) dated December 6, 1887.
Based on extensive archival materials about the history of the Hunting Society of Novi Bečej — discovered in various archives and hunting journals (Lovački glasnik 1922–1941, Vojvođanski lovac 1946–1961, Lovačke novine 1962–2011), as well as in the Monograph of the Hunting Association of Vojvodina published in 1992 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Association — a large collection of records, photographs, hunting plans, management reports, fraternity charters, hunting maps, sketches, and other documentation was gathered.
1. The Ritsko Hunting Society in Vranjevo (Banat)
The society, which a year earlier had leased a hunting ground of about 11,000 cadastral acres, organized two social hunts.
Across 13,500 cadastral acres and with 40 members, the association recorded the following game bag:
1,571 hares, 420 partridges, 36 quails, 128 wild pigeons,
The Federal Hunting Association of Novi Bečej organized a social hunt on December 14, 1939, on a hunting ground covering approximately 2,500 cadastral acres. The hunt included 21 hunters and 43 beaters. A total of 250 hares and 12 partridges were taken.
In 1954, a total of 43,077 hunted hares were exported abroad, generating 80,700 accounting dollars, along with 7,500 live hares for which 84,500 accounting dollars were received.
