Dortmund: Criticism of «Jagd und Hund» trade fair

At Europe's largest hunting trade fair “Jagd und Hund” (Dortmund, 28 January to 2 February), hunters can book the killing of endangered and protected species such as polar bears, rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards, giraffes, monkeys, brown bears and wolves right at the fair – completely legally.

«We are currently experiencing the greatest loss of species since the extinction of the dinosaurs, and many animal populations have already collapsed. Nevertheless, wealthy recreational hunters are still allowed to shoot threatened and protected animals, just as in colonial times. This senseless killing driven purely by greed for status symbols must finally come to an end».

Daniela Freyer of Pro Wildlife.

At the «Jagd und Hund» trade fair, exhibitors from Germany and more than 40 countries are represented, with dozens selling hunting safaris all over the world and luring visitors with stuffed animals, hunting films and special offers.

According to a request by Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, in the past three years alone (2017 to 2019) trophies of hundreds of internationally protected species were imported into Germany, including 89 leopards, 89 hippopotamuses, 89 brown bears, 85 elephants, 54 lions, 46 wolves, 23 argali wild sheep, 17 cheetahs, 6 polar bears, 6 white rhinos, 1 black rhino, hundreds of zebras and monkeys, as well as numerous other species.

Pro Wildlife disputes the claim by recreational hunting associations that big-game hunting is “species conservation with a shotgun» and a contribution to poverty reduction. «Corruption and mismanagement are the order of the day in the hunting sector in many countries. Lucrative profits mean that even the last remaining animals with magnificent trophies are ruthlessly pursued. It is mainly foreign hunting tour operators and private hunting farm owners who reap the profits, while the local population either goes away empty-handed or is fobbed off with handouts”, says Daniela Freyer.

Trophy hunters do not only target rare species, they also compete to kill the largest and strongest individuals. This unnatural selection has fatal consequences, because the most experienced animals at the peak of their reproductive age — who are particularly important for the survival of a population — are missing.

Methods that are banned in this country are also used when hunting abroad. Hunters are permitted to kill animals with bow and arrow, crossbow or muzzle-loader, to chase them with dogs, pursue them with vehicles, or lure big cats with dead animals. In South Africa it is still legal to breed lions and other animals, raise them by hand, and let trophy hunters shoot the grown animals in fenced enclosures (so-called "canned hunting" or enclosure hunting). Up to 10,000 lions are kept in a state of neglect on hunting farms there.

Background:

• Recreational hunters from Germany and Spain, after Americans, are among the front-runners when it comes to hunting endangered and protected species. In Africa alone, around 18,000 foreigners go trophy hunting every year, killing more than 100,000 wild animals in the process.
• Every year, hunting trophies from hundreds of endangered and internationally protected animals are imported into Germany.
• Even strictly protected species, which may not be commercially traded, can be imported as trophies for "private use" with official authorisation.
• According to a representative opinion poll, 86 percent of the population in Germany reject recreational hunting of endangered animal species. In the Netherlands, the import of trophies from threatened species is banned, and in France this at least applies to lions. The government of the United Kingdom is currently also planning a ban.

Exhibitors offer kills of turtle doves, puffins and songbirds

Bird conservationists criticise the organiser Messe Dortmund GmbH for providing a platform at the «Jagd und Hund» (Hunting and Dog) fair to companies that offer the shooting of endangered migratory birds such as turtle doves – Bird of the Year 2020 – quails and songbirds in Southern Europe or the Balkans as part of their programme. According to the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), biologists have spent recent weeks analysing the fair's exhibitor directory and identified a total of eight companies that have turned killing European migratory birds for payment into a business model.

For instance, the three tour operators «Absolute Hunting & Wingshooting» (stand number in Dortmund: 7.D40), «Diana Hunting Tours» (stand 7.E16) and «Merle Jagdreisen» (stand 7.C04) offer the shooting of migrating turtle doves – the Bird of the Year 2020 – in Romania and Serbia. The French company «Séjour Chasse» (stand 7.D22) offers well-heeled customers the opportunity to shoot blackbirds and thrushes in France in the autumn, or rare great snipes in Russia. Anyone who would rather shoot migrating songbirds near Madrid or take aim at black-tailed godwits in Armenia can turn to the company «ICC Hunting Pleasure» (stand 7.F28).

Several exhibitors are advertising hunts for wild quail in the Balkans, including the German companies «K&K Premium Jagdreisen» (stand 7.D48) and «Merle Jagdreisen» (stand 7.C04). The latter company charges 1,150 euros for a four-day «Quail Hunting Package» in Romania and advertises that hunters can expect to shoot 40 wild quail per day per hunter. For hunters wishing to kill rare seabirds in Iceland, the Lower Saxony-based company «Malepartus Jagdreisen» (stand 7.F70) has a suitable offer in its programme. For a flat rate of 1,040 euros – excluding travel to the destination – one can shoot puffins, fulmars and guillemots from a boat over two days. Hunts for snipe in Ireland and Scotland are also on offer, advertised for example in the catalogues of the companies «Blaser Safaris» (stand 7.E02) or «Diana Hunting Tours».

Turtle doves, quails and snipes have declined sharply across large parts of the EU in recent years and are protected with great effort in Germany and its neighbouring countries, according to the committee. »The killing of endangered migratory birds destroys elaborate protection projects in the breeding areas, accelerates the decline of these species and can never be sustainable«, says committee director Alexander Heyd. The committee has therefore today formally recommended that Messe Dortmund GmbH part ways with the affected exhibitors at the «Jagd und Hund» fair. The Landesjagdverband NRW (stand number 6.B30), which officially acts as the fair's «ideational sponsor», has also been called upon to clearly distance itself from the hunting of endangered migratory birds and to support the demand for the exclusion of the eight exhibitors from the fair.