Germany: Hobby hunter shoots two female dogs

For an entire year, the hobby hunter had repeatedly been irritated by the two dogs roaming freely in his hunting territory. The female dogs Leni and Maja are said to have killed deer and hares on multiple occasions. When the 53-year-old spotted the animals again in July 2018, after they had killed a hare, he made a fateful decision. He followed the dogs and shot them as the two mixed-breed dogs were already on their way home.

Hobby hunter shoots two dogs in Augsburg

It is the fear that many dog owners have when out walking: that a hobby hunter might shoot their free-roaming four-legged companion. This is exactly what happened to a dog owner from Swabia in the summer of 2018 — with not one but two dogs. A militant hobby hunter shot the animals in the Augsburg suburb of Königsbrunn, allegedly because the dogs were poaching game. The 53-year-old man was required to answer for his actions before the Augsburg District Court.

District judge Roland Fink made it unmistakably clear in his verdict that hobby hunters are only permitted to shoot at dogs in very specific situations. It is not sufficient that a dog has previously poached game or might possibly do so again in the future. It is imperative that the dog is visibly pursuing animals at the moment the shot is fired.

The public prosecutor's office charged the hobby hunter with criminal damage, unlawful killing of animals, and negligently causing bodily harm to the dog owner. The owner of the dogs is said to have suffered a severe shock after being forced to watch as the animal killer fired a coup de grâce into the head of one of the female dogs, which had only been wounded by the first shot.

The 53-year-old did claim in court that this had been the case, but the judge did not believe him, partly because the wildlife killer had described the events differently during the police interrogation. At the time the shots were fired, it had not even been apparent whether there was any game nearby at all, the judge said. "They had shot the dogs because they had the opportunity to do so.»

Verdict: 90 daily rates and revocation of hunting license

The court found the man guilty of criminal damage, unlawful killing of animals, and negligent bodily harm to the dogs' owner. The owner was forced to watch as the animal killer delivered a mercy shot to the head of one of the female dogs, which had only been wounded and was still alive, right before her eyes. The woman was sick with horror.Although the German Civil Code now stipulates that pets are no longer to be regarded as objects, animals continue to be treated as objects under criminal law, which is why the trial concerned criminal damage.

The animal killer had initially received a penalty order of 55 daily rates at 60 euros. Had he accepted it, he would have been able to keep his hunting license, as it is typically only revoked from a penalty of 60 daily rates onwards. However, since the 53-year-old filed an objection and the case went to trial, the sentence came out higher at 90 daily rates of 50 euros.

The public prosecutor's office also assumed that the two dogs had killed a hare before the fatal shots were fired. The animals were then said to have run back toward the farmhouse where they lived, without the prey. The shots are said to have been fired in this situation. Since hobby hunters are only permitted to kill pets if they are at that moment wildlife in pursuit, the prosecutors considered the shots to be illegal in this case.

According to the animal welfare association Franz von Assisi from Kissing in Swabia, the dogs were siblings that had been brought from Greece to Germany in 2016. The two female dogs, Leni and Maja, had been very attached to each other and had therefore been placed together with a foster carer, explained association chairwoman Doris Lackner.

Legal situation: When are hobby hunters permitted to shoot dogs?

Hobby hunters in Germany have the right to shoot stray dogs and cats. However, the definition of when this applies varies between the different federal states, and the regulations are also open to interpretation.

For example, the Bavarian Hunting Act: «Dogs are considered to be straying when they are visibly pursuing game within a hunting territory and pose a potential threat to it.» So if a four-legged friend is merely chasing a hare or a deer but has no chance of catching the game, the hobby hunter is not permitted to shoot. Cats, however, may be killed more readily. Under the law, it is sufficient for cats to be roaming more than 300 metres from the nearest building.

In Bavaria, dogs are also permitted to run off-leash in forests. The state nature conservation law guarantees citizens the right to enjoy nature with their pets, including in privately owned forests, for example. However, such generous regulations do not exist in all federal states — in some, dogs must be kept on a leash.

More on this in the dossier: Hunting and Animal Welfare