Hobby hunter shoots narrowly past anglers

A Vorarlberg hobby hunter narrowly missed two anglers on Wednesday while hunting cormorants in Feldkirch. The 77-year-old was reported to authorities for endangering physical safety and for unauthorised possession of weapons.

While the two men were fishing at the gravel pit of the Feldkirch agricultural cooperative, the hobby hunter fired at cormorants from the opposite bank. When a projectile struck the water just a few metres away from them, the anglers alerted the police. The wildlife killer admitted to firing the shots, but insisted that he had noticed the anglers and had been watching out for them.

Hobby hunter regularly shot from his car

Officers from the Feldkirch police station learned through the local fisheries inspector that the hobby hunter responsible for this area allegedly always shot from his car. Such incidents reveal how poorly oversight of armed hobby hunters works in practice.

The elderly hobby hunter, who was found at his home shortly afterwards, stated that he had previously been watching for cormorants at the gravel pit and had also fired at them. He showed no remorse for the danger he had caused and played down his behaviour.

Illegal weapon seized

Police officers issued a temporary weapons ban and confiscated all of his weapons and ammunition. An unregistered pistol along with its ammunition was also seized. The wildlife killer is being reported to the public prosecutor's office in Feldkirch for endangering physical safety and for unauthorised possession of weapons. Such hunting accidents and safety incidents are not isolated cases, as the analysis of hunting myths shows.