Luxembourg Extends Fox Hunting Ban

The protection of foxes is a success story: Fox populations are stable; the "population explosion" predicted by hobby hunters ahead of the hunting ban has failed to materialize. A study now shows that sparing foxes also reduces the risk of humans contracting fox tapeworm. The IG Wild beim Wild calls on recreational hunters to follow Luxembourg's example.

The Luxembourg Ministry of the Environment banned fox hunting in 2015, seeing no reasonable justification for the killing of several thousand foxes per year. Hunting associations had repeatedly warned of runaway fox populations as a result of the ban. They also made repeated attempts to exploit fears about fox tapeworm in order to overturn the regulation.

Hunting ban reduces risk of fox tapeworm infection

However, there is still no evidence whatsoever of higher fox populations. A study published in France in November 2017 further shows that hunting actually increases the risk of fox tapeworm infection: while the infection rate among foxes rose from 40 percent to between 55 and 75 percent as a result of intensive hunting, it remained constant in a hunting-free control area. Franck Boué, one of the authors of the widely noted study, will present the findings in a lecture on 29 January 2018 in Luxembourg City.

Fox populations require no "regulation" by humans

Time and again, both studies and practical experience across a wide variety of regions show that foxes require no "regulation." When losses increase due to hobby hunting, for example, this leads to higher birth rates and greater immigration from neighbouring areas, quickly offsetting the losses. On the other hand, experience from hunting-free areas shows that fewer fox cubs are born there and mass proliferation does not occur. “Birth control instead of mass suffering,” was how biologist Erik Zimen once described this. The failure of hobby hunting as a means of population control is once again confirmed here.

Ban on fox hunting: Setting the direction for all of Europe

The ban on fox hunting in Luxembourg sets a precedent for all of Europe: against the massive pressure of an influential lobby, the right decision was made on the basis of verifiable scientific facts. It is long overdue for political decision-makers to stop bowing to the interests of the hunting lobby. The example of Luxembourg shows that a ban on fox hunting not only prevents the often agonizing death of thousands of foxes, but is a model of success across the board for citizens, animal welfare, and nature conservation.