Foxes in constant fear of death from recreational hunting

After charges were brought against the operators of an earth hunting facility in Lemgo, PETA, together with the Lower Saxony section of the association Wildtierschutz Deutschland, has also filed a complaint against those responsible for the earth hunting facility in Dollbergen with the public prosecutor's office in Hildesheim.

The reason is alleged violations of the animal welfare act. As in the more than 100 other earth hunting facilities in Germany, foxes are repeatedly driven through an underground tunnel system there and trapped in small chambers. What is new here is the realisation that not only the dogs themselves, but also the operators and helpers acting on site, put the foxes into mortal fear.

In addition to those responsible for this facility, PETA has also reported over 100 other operators throughout the country in order to draw attention to the massive and ongoing suffering of foxes in earth hunting facilities. The animal rights organisations are demanding the immediate closure of the facility in Dollbergen as well as the seizure of any foxes that may still be locked up there.

Like humans and all other animals, foxes have a right to freedom – it must not be the case that they are locked up and abused for hunting dog training. Earth hunting facilities are hardly surpassable in terms of cruelty and violation of animal welfare. It is characteristic of recreational hunters and their bloodthirsty 'hobby' that they subject foxes to unimaginable mortal fear without any compassion. Earth hunting facilities must be banned immediately. With this complaint, we want to bring to light the cruelties that have been taking place in secret for decades, and hold those responsible accountable.

Dr Edmund Haferbeck, Senior Staff Member for Special Projects at PETA

Wildtierschutz Deutschland, Lower Saxony section, has carried out its own on-site investigation into the specific earth-hunting training facility in Dollbergen and has provided compelling and up-to-date video footage showing the recreational hunters' brutal handling of the fox. It can certainly be assumed that, despite apparent physical integrity, the prolonged and repeated stress exposure has long since had pathological consequences for the fox in question. The Hildesheim public prosecutor's office has opened criminal investigation proceedings under case number NZS 14 Js 22799/22.

„No hunter, no den attendant, no politician, no lawyer and no judge can deny that foxes in earth-hunting training facilities serve only a single, constantly repeated purpose: to be continually chased, harassed and attacked under artificially created conditions dictated by humans. It is nothing short of absurd to deny that the well-being of the tormented foxes is being impaired”, says Thomas Mitschke of Wildtierschutz Deutschland, Lower Saxony section.

Background information: fox hunting is counterproductive and cruel

Despite their clearly animal-tormenting nature, earth-hunting training facilities have not yet been banned in Germany, just like earth hunting itself. According to the organisation, these operations fundamentally violate Section 17 of the Animal Welfare Act as well as the relevant criminal law and regulatory offence provisions.

Following a complaint filed by PETA against the operators of an earth-hunting training facility in Lemgo (North Rhine-Westphalia), a hearing has been scheduled for September 2022 (case no.: 23 Js 200/20 AG Lemgo). Foxes in these facilities are permanently in a state of mortal fear, as hunters repeatedly send dogs into the tunnel system designed to simulate a fox den. Although the fox is placed in a chamber separated from the dogs by bars so that it can be tracked down there, it must nevertheless constantly fear for its life in its “home”. In general, captivity as well as contact with humans and dogs cause considerable stress for wild animals such as foxes. According to PETA, it is not only the “training” for earth hunting that is cruel and unnecessary, but hunting itself.

Sadistic recreational hunters hunt foxes with traps, guns and earth hunting. Shot animals frequently flee with open wounds or die a slow, agonising death in traps. In the last hunting year, over 57,000 foxes were killed by recreational hunters in Lower Saxony alone, with almost half a million animals killed nationwide. Foxes mainly serve recreational hunters as living targets, since there is no reason for their mass hunting from either a wildlife biology or health perspective.

Moreover, hunting foxes has no regulating or reducing effect on the population whatsoever, because losses are quickly offset by immigration and rising birth rates. Fox populations regulate themselves through social structures, food availability and disease. Given these facts, fox hunting has already been banned in Luxembourg since April 2015. Such a ban is long overdue in Germany – which is why PETA has launched a corresponding petition.