Hobby Hunters and Right-Wing Extremists: The Overlaps

Malicious tongues claim that today's hunting misconduct descends from the friends of National Socialism.

The ideology is common to both: unsubstantiated claims are made and opinions are manufactured. The recreational hunters make use of certain labels that are purely ideological in character.

Problem animal, predator, pest, hotbed of disease, plague, invasion, and so on — these are not biological criteria but serve as value judgements, as instruments of degradation. A favored and proven method of creating and sustaining enemy images. No doubt is left that animals one wishes to kill also deserve to die.

Trade Fair Jagd und Schund in Dortmund

From 30 January to 4 February 2024, the notorious trade fair «Jagd und Hund» will be held in Dortmund.

This year, the Deutsche Burschenschaft, an extreme right-wing organisation, has announced that it will operate a stand (stand number: 3.C76) at the fair and will be accompanied by «fraternity brothers». The «Burschenschaft» is well connected within far-right circles.

The aim, it is said, is to recruit more hobby hunters for the «Deutsche Burschenschaft» and to attract potential new members. The working group «Jagd und Buxe» states that the interest in the hunting fair stems from the many cultural overlaps shared by traditional associations.

Hobby hunters and far-right ideology do not differ substantially. Both camps place value on a culture of violence in pursuing their diffuse claims. Both share a distorted worldview, which they pursue with cult-like want to realize militancy. Problems are best solved militantly with weapons — hobby hunters rarely manage anything beyond that, given the limited capacity beneath their cerebellum. When one looks at the social media profiles of hobby hunters, they are rife with conservatism, far-right ideology, Pegida, sexism, racism, status symbols, etc. It is rare to encounter people who aspire to higher things among hobby hunters. Hobby hunters also do not face their opponents in a fair fight in the open field — they are too cowardly and too treacherous for that.

Every act of violence manifests something that exists pathologically within the hobby hunter but is not permitted to unfold in everyday life, because society no longer tolerates it. Wars, torture, persecution, rape, violence, killing and execution as instruments of power to dominate fellow human beings no longer find acceptance in our cultural sphere. But killing has a component, and the hobby hunt is still a stage on which this power is acted out. Animals are the suffering victims in this unfair game, made available for that very purpose.

Time and again, claims emerge from the hobby hunter milieu that, upon close analysis, have their origins in hunting literature and similarly unscientific sources. This is due primarily to the frequently inadequate training in courses for the hunting examination, which are largely conducted by partly fanatical individuals with sect-like ideologies who require no regular proof of qualification.

After training, the hobby hunter moves exclusively within the echo chamber of the hunting press, which continually repeats his skewed and often false representations.

Within hunting associations, members then mutually reinforce one another’s view of things. In this way, a closed-off and militant group has emerged that is barely receptive to new information. The fatal consequence is that the local press and politicians still believe that expertise resides beneath the hunter’s hat, which is why they readily consult the local hobby hunter on all matters concerning nature. In this way, hobby hunters also contaminate the public discourse.

Far-right extremists seek normalization

By participating in the hunting fair, the far-right hopes to achieve normalization and connection to the political mainstream. In particular, the “AfD”, with its demands for expanded firearms legislation, hopes to gain access to the fair's clientele. It can be assumed that the fair's visitors are to be influenced by extreme right-wing propaganda.

Racism and Speciesism

Around the world, people are still discriminated against, humiliated, and often persecuted on the basis of their origin and skin color. Anti-racism legislation rightly prohibits the discrimination of people on the basis of their ethnicity, skin color, and religion. For no person is better than another. We all have the right to life and to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of where we come from or what skin color or religion we have.

For animals, however, the situation is still different.Wild animals are often afforded no protection: they are unwanted and “worthless,” even though they have long ceased to be regarded as mere objects. Their right to life is legally denied to them on the basis of their origin or in the name of the ecological balance dictated by hobby hunters. This is lived “speciesism,” which means: through their attitude toward wild animals, hobby hunters demonstrate once again their conviction that, by virtue of their species, they are superior to all others and may therefore treat them as they please. This attitude is more than reprehensible and can no longer be tolerated.

Join the Campaign: Petition your municipality, in light of the catastrophic policies of Federal Councillor Albert Rösti (SVP), for a remission of federal and cantonal taxes in response to the recently approved shooting of wolves in Switzerland. You can download the template letter here: https://wildbeimwild.com/ein-appell-fuer-eine-veraenderung-in-der-schweiz/