Germany: 459’284 dead foxes for the bin

459’284 foxes killed without reasonable justification

For Wildtierschutz Deutschland, hobby hunting is any hunting carried out by recreational hunters without nature conservation objectives, assessment or oversight, or without a reasonable justification within the meaning of animal protection law.

The death of a wild boar shot for consumption is entirely consistent with current animal protection law and the values of the majority of our society. The death of a fox that gives the shooter “an almost unbeatable feeling of joy” (quote from the forum of the hunting magazine «Wild und Hund») is quite another matter. The same applies to tens of thousands of male foxes killed during the winter mating season, whose cubs have significantly lower chances of development and survival with only one parent.

Current hunting laws permit “liberal” — that is to say, arbitrary — hunting of foxes. Arbitrary, because it is left entirely to the individual hunter’s discretion whether any given animal is killed or not. In the 2020/21 hunting year alone, national hunting statistics record 459’284 red foxes killed across Germany.

Fur and meat unusable

Reynard may not be used for consumption, and at present perhaps only one percent of killed animals have their winter fur processed. The «Fellwechsel» project — subsidised with substantial public funds by the hobby hunters’ lobby to promote the use of fox pelts — has failed spectacularly. Who still buys fur, after all?

With regard to the pretext of species protection, which is often put forward by recreational hunters as well as by political authorities, one must note that despite intensive hunting over the past two decades, not a single species that recreational hunters claim to protect has even come close to stabilizing its population. On the national Red Lists, the brown hare is classified as endangered, and the grey partridge as critically endangered. Species conservation can only be carried out effectively under nature conservation supervision.

Fox tapeworm as a pretext

Another pretext for justifying the cruel fox hunt is the containment of fox diseases. Rabies has long been eradicated in Germany and in western and central European countries thanks to the distribution of vaccine baits. Alveolar echinococcosis is one of the rarest zoonotic diseases in Europe. In Germany, an average of approximately 40 people per year are affected.

In fact, the fox tapeworm is entirely unsuitable as a justification for fox hunting, as hunting foxes cannot reduce their rate of infestation with the fox tapeworm, but has demonstrably been shown to increase it. On the other hand, the infestation rate can be drastically reduced through the use of deworming baits. The Hobby hunting fails as population control.

In joint statements with the German Animal Welfare Federation, the League Against the Abuse of Animals, and the German Legal Association for Animal Protection Law, the organizations call for hunting law to be more closely aligned with the public interest.

Link to source references