Austria Talk: Why Do We Hunt?

127’000 hunting licenses were issued in Austria last year, only a small portion of which went to professional hunters. Most people hunt as a hobby or alongside other occupations.

Documentary films and a panel discussion on ORF III's themed Monday evening explored and questioned the purpose of hunting in our time.

Is hobby hunting a necessary form of forest and wildlife management, or merely bloody “fun”? This is the question debated by Marlene Kaufmann and Reiner Reitsamer together with their guests Maximilian Mayr-Melnhof (hobby hunter), Roland Düringer (actor and cabaret artist), Sigrun Rossmanith (psychologist), and Christian Nittmann (Initiative for the Abolition of Hunting in Austria).

Hunting Fever in Salzburg

The topic of “hunting” is booming in Salzburg. Every year, visitor numbers at the Salzburg hunting fair «Hohe Jagd» — one of the largest in Europe — continue to rise, and the number of people sitting their hunting exams is particularly high in Salzburg as well.

Hobby hunting is not only popular, however, but above all deeply controversial. Last year, a dispute between animal rights activists and Salzburg hunting estate owner Max Mayr-Melnhof over his wild boar enclosure hunt in Salzburg's Anthering escalated into full-blown legal proceedings.

The fact that hobby hunting is not solely about necessary wildlife management and stewardship, but also about trophies, is evidenced by the thriving business of taxidermists and, above all, the flourishing multimillion-dollar trade in big-game hunting abroad. More on the animal welfare issues of hobby hunting and on hunting myths.