Unhinged Hobby Hunters in Styria

A large proportion of the Austrian population is critical of hobby hunting. The justification for this is demonstrated by the pheasant drives held every autumn in Austria. In Styria, the hunting law was reformed in 2016 following public advocacy by the VGT. Even before the amendment, pheasants were not actually permitted to be released for hobby hunting, but for six years now the hunting law and its associated regulation have been unambiguous: pheasants may only be released into the wild to “support the population,” and under no circumstances to increase the hunting bag. This is therefore meant to constitute a nature conservation measure. Yet pheasants continue to be released for hunting pleasure with the knowledge of the Styrian Hunting Protection Association and the knowledge of the district hunting masters, who are supposed to inspect and approve the releases.

St. Georgen: Even More Illegal Than “Usual”

Six years ago, it was standard legal practice for pheasants to be released from their cage aviaries just a few weeks before the hobby hunt, only to then be shot. Since 2016, the young animals must be transferred from the aviaries to so-called “rewilding biotopes,” where they are supposed to acclimatise to a life in the wild in a protected environment.

In St. Georgen an der Stiefing, time appears to have stood still: This year, dozens of pheasants were raised in aviaries, and the male birds were allegedly released illegally just a very short time before the recreational hunt. Release biotopes are nowhere to be found in the vicinity. It is therefore entirely clear that the purpose of the release was not to support the population or serve as a conservation measure, but rather to illegally increase kill numbers.

Violations of Animal Protection Law

On the very day of the driven hunt on 5 November 2022, two illegal pheasant enclosures were discovered. On the day of the recreational hunt itself, pheasants were still confined in completely bare, grossly overcrowded pens — namely, primarily the female birds, which were supposedly meant to be released into the wild to produce offspring and “support the population.” Criminal complaints were filed against the property owners and those presumed to be responsible.

Horrific Animal Cruelty

During the recreational hunt, scenes of cruelty were observed and partially documented. A pheasant was shot and fell directly at the feet of two hobby hunters. Severely injured, it hopped about and writhed in pain. The hobby hunters reloaded their rifles and watched the suffering animal without putting it out of its misery. Only after some time did a hunting dog arrive, seize the pheasant, and run off with the still-struggling bird.

Hares were also shot: one was injured and could no longer flee. It attempted to drag itself forward, wrestling with death. Only after being prompted by a fellow hunter did the hobby huntress eventually take aim at the hare to deliver the final shot. Despite countless rounds fired, driven hunts of this kind leave some animals merely wounded, collapsing to the ground — or escaping with injuries. The animal welfare problems of recreational hunting are systemic in nature.

What happened last Saturday was horrific. Beyond the terrible suffering inflicted on the animals and the alarming indifference of the trigger-happy hobby hunters, I also witnessed residents who had hidden in their homes out of fear. Shots were fired between residential buildings. This was an apparent violation of applicable laws, which is why we filed extensive criminal complaints. We will see whether the deliberate ignorance on the part of the authorities and politicians continues, or whether these illegal acts of animal cruelty will finally be brought to an end.

David Richter from VGT

Recently, the district hunting master of the district in question, Wolfgang Neubauer jun., was reported to the public prosecutor's office by the VGT on charges of abuse of office. Mr. Neubauer is the mayor of the current hunting area but was not present at this hobby hunt. Whether he had knowledge of his hunting colleagues' illegal aviaries is a matter for the relevant authority to investigate.

The VGT is calling for a ban on the senseless release of pheasants and an absolute prohibition on shooting female animals and all pheasants in areas where pheasants have been released. So far, the Styrian ÖVP, FPÖ and SPÖ have opposed such a ban. Similar violations are also documented in the Crime and Hobby Hunting section on wildbeimwild.com.