Church Blessing for Hobby Hunters: Criticism
On the feast of Saint Hubertus of Liège on 3 November, IG Wild beim Wild criticises such orientations of religious services.
Hubertus Masses contradict Christian ethics
Hubertus Masses, which are primarily co-organised and attended by recreational hunters, are incompatible with the Christian ethic of respect for life.
They frequently mark the opening of particularly cruel driven hunts and special hunts, during which recreational hunters move through forests in a manner that causes animal suffering, harassing, injuring and killing countless wild animals . IG Wild beim Wild therefore appeals to church representatives to distance themselves in future from these violence-glorifying and sectarian services.
“There is no comprehensible justification for hobby hunting, as it is not suited to regulating populations on a lasting basis. Hobby hunting does not mean fewer wild animals — it means more births.”
IG Wild beim Wild
Hobby hunting is not population regulation
According to the Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare , up to two thirds of wild animals do not die immediately during driven hunts. With shattered bones and protruding entrails, the animals flee, often suffering from their injuries for days and dying in agony if they are not found during the so-called tracking search.
Numerous scientific studies confirm that hobby hunting is not suited to regulating wild populations on a lasting basis. Scientists demonstrated that in hunted wild boar populations, female animals reach sexual maturity earlier, causing birth rates to rise.
“Celebrating a religious service that gives recreational hunters the symbolic blessing for the systematic killing of defenceless fellow creatures sends entirely the wrong signal. Churches must stand for the preservation of creation, not for its destruction.”
Julia Bielecki, theologian
The Legend of Saint Hubertus
According to the ancient legend, Hubertus was born around 655 as the son of a nobleman and died in 728. In his early years he led a pleasure-seeking life and was a passionate hunter. One day, while out hunting, he had tracked down a stag and was pursuing it when the animal suddenly turned to face him. Between its antlers a cross shone brightly, and in the form of the stag, Christ spoke to him: «Hubertus, why do you hunt me?» Hubertus dismounted from his horse and knelt before the stag. From that moment on, Hubertus gave up hunting.
Christian Ethics and Hobby Hunting
It is written nowhere that Jesus Christ ever hunted animals. That would also be highly contradictory, for God’s 5th Commandment states “Thou shalt not kill.” Yet every form of hobby hunting is bound up with killing.
The meaning of the legend of Hubertus is surely this: that human beings should live in harmony and peace with nature and with animals. They should not be the hunter, but the protector and friend of animals.
