PETA files charges against Schliefenanlage operators
PETA's motto is: animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or exploit in any other way. The organisation campaigns against speciesism: a worldview that regards humans as superior to all other living beings.
Foxes living in permanent fear of death.
Charges filed against 20 Schliefenanlage operators
Following the indictment of the operator of the Schliefenanlage in Lemgo, PETA has now also filed charges against those responsible for the Schliefenanlage run by the Jagdverband Pritzwalk and those responsible for the Schliefenanlage in Warndt, Saarland.
The reason is violations of the Animal Welfare Act. As in the approximately 100 other artificial earths in Germany, foxes are repeatedly driven into underground tunnels. There, dogs being “sharpened” for den hunting put them into a state of mortal terror. In addition to the facility in Pritzwalk, PETA has filed charges against a further 19 operators across Germany.
Foxes, like humans and all other animals, deserve a life in freedom, rather than being locked up and exploited for the training of hunting dogs. Artificial earths are virtually unmatched in their cruelty and disregard for animal welfare. It is telling of hobby hunters and their bloodthirsty pastime that they show no compassion in subjecting dozens of foxes to constant fear of death. Artificial earths must be banned immediately.
Nadja Michler, wildlife specialist at PETA
Despite their overtly cruel nature, artificial earths have not yet been banned in Germany, just like den hunting. Foxes in these facilities are permanently in a state of mortal terror, as hobby hunters repeatedly send dogs into the tunnel system designed to simulate a fox's earth.
Fox hunting is counterproductive and cruel
Hobby hunters pursue foxes with traps, rifles, and den hunting. In the past hunting year in Germany, more than 22,000 foxes were killed by wildlife killers in Brandenburg alone, and nearly half a million animals nationwide. Foxes serve primarily as living targets for hobby hunters, as there is no reason — neither from a wildlife biology nor a public health perspective — for their mass hunting. Furthermore, hobby hunting for foxes has no regulatory or reducing effect on the population, because losses are quickly offset by immigration and rising birth rates. Given the facts, fox hunting has already been banned in Luxembourg since April 2015.
Such a ban is long overdue in Germany — which is why PETA has launched a corresponding petition.
