Germany: Wildlife park loans foxes for cruel hunting dog training
At the Hochwildschutzpark Hunsrück in Rheinböllen, a destination visited by thousands of people every year, four foxes are kept alongside numerous other wild animals. What visitors to the park don't know: two of these foxes are being misused for the training of fierce hunting dogs at a so-called Schliefanlage (artificial earth training facility) in Simmern. The Aktionsbündnis Fuchs, an initiative of more than 60 German animal and nature conservation organisations, is demanding
At the Hochwildschutzpark Hunsrück in Rheinböllen, a destination visited by thousands of people every year, four foxes are kept alongside numerous other wild animals. What visitors to the park don't know: two of these foxes are being misused for the training of fierce hunting dogs at a so-called Schliefanlage (artificial earth training facility) in Simmern. The Aktionsbündnis Fuchs, an initiative of more than 60 German animal and nature conservation organisations, is demanding an immediate end to this practice and the closure of the Schliefanlage.
Schliefanlagen are used to train hunting dogs for the equally cruel practice of earth hunting, in which “predator-sharp” dogs chase their victims — usually foxes — out of the safety of their dens and in front of the guns of waiting hobby hunters.
Veterinary office confirms suspicion
From the responsible veterinary office in Simmern, we learn that two of the four foxes housed at the wildlife park in Rheinböllen are the property of the Rhein-Nahe working group of the Deutschen Jagdterrier-Club e.V. — and that, as feared, they are brought to a Schliefanlage in Simmern for around four weeks a year for the purpose of hunting dog training. The fact that foxes are kept at this facility at all had apparently been concealed from the veterinary office by the Jagdterrier-Club: it was only through the tip-off from the Aktionsbündnis Fuchs that the authorities were made aware of this circumstance.
Since artificial earth training facilities are mostly hermetically sealed off from the public, the Aktionsbündnis Fuchs decides to pay an on-site visit to the wildlife park in Rheinböllen. What we find there is an extremely shy, emaciated red fox that spends most of its time hiding in fear from the gazes of park visitors.
Contradictions and Threats
When we manage to track down a representative of the park on site — a falconer and therefore also a hunting licence holder — he is initially far from pleased. He becomes entangled in contradictions: at first, for instance, he denies that there are any red foxes on the premises; but when confronted with the timid little fox, he does admit to its existence. At the end of the conversation, he threatens us with legal action should we attempt to "construct" a connection between the hunting terrier club and the wildlife park. It is therefore clear that those involved are well aware that any link to the operators of artificial earth training facilities would not go down well with park visitors.
Closure of the Training Facility Demanded
"We call on the Hochwildschutzpark Hunsrück to stop acting as an instrument of backward-looking hobby hunters," says Dag Frommhold, one of the initiators of the Aktionsbündnis Fuchs, which is supported by more than 60 organisations. "A wildlife park should not allow foxes kept on its premises to be exploited for cruel hunting practices. Furthermore, we call on the district administrator of the Rhein-Hunsrück district to immediately close the artificial earth training facility of the Deutschen Jagd Terrier Club e.V. in Simmern on animal welfare grounds and to transfer the two foxes into the permanent care of a responsible institution." More on the animal welfare problems of hobby hunting.
