Special Hunt Uri: Massacre of Pregnant Hinds
In a letter to the editor, hobby hunters were accused of disrespecting nature due to the supplementary hunt.
«In November, the hinds are already in their third month of pregnancy, yet still accompanied by their spring calf,» wrote Karl Mattli in a letter to the editor.
The special hunt results in all female deer being released for culling. «Where is the regard and respect for nature in such a massacre? I hope for reflection and reason,» wrote Mattli.
Josef Walker from Uri’s Office for Hunting and Nonsense justifies the culling of female animals with the need to regulate populations to a level compatible with their habitat, since natural regulators such as wolf, lynx, fox and others are not truly accepted, adds IG Wild beim Wild.
A special hunt is, as the name implies, a corrective measure. When a corrective measure becomes the rule, something is wrong with the science, wildlife biology, planning, and execution.
The persistently high hunting pressure has not regulated the population to the desired level, but has instead kept it highly productive at an elevated level. That means: the more roe deer or red deer are shot, the more strongly they reproduce. – IG Wild beim Wild
If the defined target cull numbers are not reached during the big game hunt in September, a special hunt takes place from November onwards.
This recreational hunting brings further negative aspects with it. Damage caused by deer — such as browsing and stripping the bark of young trees in the forest, or trampling damage — is thereby practically provoked. Deer do not normally inhabit the forest as their living space. Josef Walker also begrudges wildlife any grazing (food intake) on meadowland in his justification for the special hunt in the Urner Zeitung.
Another criticism from Mattli concerns the biological rest phase of the animals. Deer slow their metabolism depending on the length of the day in order to overwinter. When deer are in this so-called winter habitat and are driven to flee by gunshots, they must bring their metabolism from economy mode to full speed within a very short time. This leads to unnecessary energy expenditure and more browsing damage, the letter writer explains. Should there also be snow on the ground, many animals perish from exhaustion, according to Mattli. He considers it ethically and morally reprehensible to carry out such a supplementary hunt at this time of year in mountain areas.
Facts instead of hunters' tales
It is hobby hunting alone that drives the wildlife into the forest, where they find none of the grasses and herbs that are vital to them and have no choice but to nibble on buds, animal welfare advocates and scientists contend. The special hunt causes unnecessary disturbance to wildlife, which often further increases their nutritional needs and thus browsing damage. At the same time, their reproductive capacity is stimulated, so that the forest-wildlife conflict intensifies even further, while recreational hunters have more and more cannon fodder and thus ample blood money flows into the canton's coffers.
Heavy hunting keeps the population at a high level. It has led into a dead end from which one cannot escape by going deeper into it. On the contrary. Browsing damage continues to increase because the wariness imposed on them prevents them from living largely in the open as is their nature. Were they permitted to do so, this would not only benefit natural regeneration in the forest on its own, but the frequency of wildlife accidents would also decrease. Deer and roe deer that do not have to cross roads in the dead of night will not end up under the wheels of vehicles either. They can learn to adapt to road traffic. Which would surely not be a bad thing.
A further advantage would follow: wildlife would become visible again. If they were not so shy, it would be much easier to determine how large the populations actually are. And how they are distributed. Browsing damage is not a reliable indicator of this.
Animal welfare law applies to hobby hunting as well
The two-tier hunting model with regular and special hunting seasons raises questions from an animal welfare perspective. During the special hunting season for red deer and roe deer, which extends well into December, the regulations governing hunting operations are considerably more relaxed than during the September hunt. This results in a significantly higher acceptance of animal welfare violations being tolerated.
Contrary to a view that is still occasionally held, federal animal welfare law applies in full to the practice of hunting. Violations of animal welfare regulations are therefore also punishable by law during hunting activities.
The principle of fair chase, which is meant to underpin all hunting activity and is also enshrined in law in the canton of Uri, is undermined by the operational provisions governing the special hunting season.
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