Dramatic Hunting Accidents

The hunting accident occurred at the lock near the town, where the hobby hunter was travelling in a car in the presence of three passengers.

There he discovered an Egyptian goose which, according to his account, was dying, and which he intended to put out of its misery with his hunting rifle. As he was getting out of the car, a shot accidentally discharged from his rifle and struck one of the four men, seriously injuring him.

PETA points out that hobby hunters unintentionally injure or even kill several dozen people every year. In addition, they cause considerable suffering to hundreds of thousands of animals through missed shots. The animal rights organisation is calling on the new federal government to pass a ban on hobby hunting. The animal welfare problem of hobby hunting is particularly evident here.

«Every year, numerous tragedies occur because trigger-happy recreational hunters shoot around irresponsibly,» said Peter Höffken, specialist adviser at PETA. «How many people and animals must still be injured or die needlessly before hobby hunting is finally banned?»

Accidents involving fatal shots and self-inflicted injuries are on the rise

In recent years, numerous serious hunting accidents have already caused outrage. At the very beginning of January, a hobby hunter on a raised hide near Ruchow was fatally struck by a bullet allegedly fired in error by a fellow hunter. More on crime in the context of hobby hunting.

In December, a woman was seriously injured by a gunshot in front of her home during a driven hunt in Barssel. In August, a hobby hunter seriously injured his hunting companion with a shot to the head area in Heubach. In June, a woman in Huglfing suffered a through-and-through gunshot wound to the thigh. In May, a hobby hunter attempted to kill a fox in Aholming and struck the wall of a residential building. The rifle bullet landed in the bedroom under the residents' bed. In January, a jogger in Saxony was shot during a driven hunt. In mid-November 2023, a hobby hunter in Thuringia injured his hunting partner with a shot to the face. In early November 2023, an 82-year-old farmer in North Rhine-Westphalia died after being struck by a shot while driving a tractor during a driven hunt. More on the firearm killings in Switzerland.

Renowned experts confirm: hobby hunting is cruel and unnecessary

Recognised studies confirm that there is no ecological justification for hobby hunting. According to the renowned biologist Prof. Dr. Josef Reichholf, natural regulation of wildlife populations living in forests occurs through environmental factors such as weather conditions, food availability, and disease. English experts also concluded that fox populations in particular self-regulate based on food availability and social factors. As studies demonstrate, hobby hunting fails as a means of population control.

Hobby hunting, by contrast, destroys the age and social structures of animal populations, leading to increased reproduction among survivors. Losses in the population are thus rapidly offset or even overcompensated through offspring and immigration. Hobby hunting is unnecessary, counterproductive, and cruel. The approximately 400’000 hobby hunters in Germany are matched by only around 1’000 professional hunters, primarily forestry officials.