Germany: Lawsuit Against Chamois Culling Plan Dismissed
A German court has dismissed the lawsuit against the chamois culling plan. Conservationists criticise the decision as a step backwards.
The chamois in the Kürnach forest area near Kempten may once again be shot.
An animal welfare organisation has failed in its lawsuit before the Augsburg Administrative Court against chamois hunting – and yet views the outcome positively.
By judgment of 22 February 2022, the Augsburg Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit brought by the association Wildes Bayern e.V., a recognised nature conservation organisation, against the chamois culling plan for 2021/2022.
By notice dated 1 April 2021, the Lower Hunting Authority at the Oberallgäu District Office had, in consultation with the Buchenberg wildlife management cooperative, established a culling quota of a total of 15 chamois across the eight hunting districts of the cooperative. The decision had been preceded by a site inspection in 2019 as well as further investigations into the status and development of the chamois population. At the same time, a long-term observation of browsing damage in the forest, conducted by the forestry authorities, was used as the basis for the culling plan.
Association «Wildes Bayern» fears for chamois population
The animal rights advocates of the association «Wildes Bayern» see it differently. The association referred to a census conducted in 2020, among others by the Bavarian Hunting Association and the Deutsche Wildtier Stiftung. According to the association, this census found that 18 chamois were living in the forest area at the time. The culling plan drawn up by the Oberallgäu District Office, the association argued, threatened the extermination of the chamois population in the Kürnach, and the association sought to halt the culling through its lawsuit.
The lawsuit brought by the association Wildes Bayern e.V. was unsuccessful. The 8th Chamber of the Augsburg Administrative Court concluded that, given the special situation in the Kürnach forest area — namely an undisputedly small chamois population — the association does have legal standing to seek judicial review of the culling plan.According to the chamber, however, this review is limited to compliance with environmental regulations, while violations of procedural rules under hunting law cannot, as a general rule, be challenged by nature conservation associations.
On the merits, the court concluded that the Lower Hunting Authority, taking into account all available findings — in particular the specific characteristics of the chamois population in the Kürnach area and the browsing situation — had carried out a proper culling plan. The cull quota of 15 chamois set by the district office falls within an acceptable numerical range, such that the culling plan does not pose a threat to the chamois population in the Kürnach.
A project report submitted by the plaintiff was also found to be insufficient to call the culling plan into question, as it did not yield sufficiently robust figures to support the existence of a significantly smaller or endangered chamois population.
Hunting had already been permitted on the Baden-Württemberg side of the Kürnach. Now, following the ruling, the Allgäu hobby hunters are also once again allowed to hunt and may shoot up to 15 chamois in the Kürnach.
