Germany: Number of killed European hares on the rise

Latest figures from the German Hunters' Association: number of killed European hares on the rise.

PETA demands end to recreational hunting of endangered hare population

Recreational hunters are ignoring species conservation: the number of European hares is declining sharply, and the animals have already been placed on the Red List of Endangered Species. The German Hunters' Association has now published the hunting bag figures for the 2018/19 hunting season. While 184,690 European hares were killed in Germany during the 2017/18 hunting season, including so-called found dead animals, the figure for the most recently published hunting period stands at 191,854 animals killed — that is 7,164 more hares, representing an increase of around 3.9 percent.

The animal rights organization is now calling on the German Hunters' Association to immediately stop recreational hunting of hares. Otherwise, PETA holds the Federal Ministry of Agriculture responsible for declaring a year-round closed season for the endangered species.

Recreational hunting of European hares must be regarded as an existential threat to the species. It would not be the first time that recreational hunters have pursued a species until it stands on the brink of extinction. Grey partridges were also shot in their hundreds of thousands in some years during the 20th century and are now severely endangered. At the same time, recreational hunters kill over 400,000 foxes on the absurd grounds that these animals supposedly threaten endangered species. Should the hunting association continue to pursue European hares, a legal regulation must be introduced.

Nadja Michler, Wildlife Expert at PETA

Misleading arguments from recreational hunters

'Fallen wildlife' refers to animals killed without direct hunting activity, for example in road traffic, but they represent only a small proportion of the total annual kill. Industrial agriculture is the main factor in the population decline of endangered species, as it destroys the habitat of animals. New arable land, monocultures, fertilizers, and pesticides increasingly destroy natural structures that are vital for their survival, and over-fertilization also diminishes the food supply. The killing of hundreds of thousands of animals by recreational hunters places additional pressure on already weakened populations and can push them to the brink of extinction.

Recreational hunters mistakenly attempt to attribute the decline in hare populations to predators such as the fox. However, foxes feed primarily on mice and pose no threat to the hare population or to ground-nesting birds. Hobby hunting of foxes also has no regulatory or reducing effect on the population, as losses are quickly offset by immigration and rising birth rates.