Criticism of the "Apropos Jagd" trade fair: The uncultured practice of pointless animal hunting

From Friday, 25 – 27.04.2025, the "Apropos Jagd" trade fair will take place at the Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt. IG Wild beim Wild criticizes the event and calls on visitors to avoid the fair. Killing as a "pastime" is a cultural regression.

Although there is no comprehensible justification for hunting species such as carrion crows, rooks, Eurasian jays, magpies, feral domestic cats, raccoons, raccoon dogs, foxes and badgers in small game hunting, these wild animals and domestic animals are killed every year primarily as a "leisure activity" by hobby hunters.

Those who kill senselessly do not protect wildlife, and civilized society gains nothing from it. Hobby hunters therefore do not contribute to healthy or natural wildlife populations either, particularly not through their abhorrent fox hunting.

Trophy hunting abroad

IG Wild beim Wild criticizes the fact that the organizer Arena Nova provides a platform for militants who indulge in a culture of violence under the guise of a misguided experience of nature.

It is tasteless to promote the killing of animals as a form of entertaining ‘leisure sport’ at the fair. Under the guise of a connection to nature, hunting causes immeasurable suffering – every year many animals are wounded by stray shots or terrorized without purpose. Many of them die slowly and in agony, says Carl Sonnthal, IG Wild beim Wild.

According to media reports, hobby hunters are also involved, year after year – due to a lack of training and ethics – in legal violations such as breaches of hunting law, poaching, arms smuggling, environmental and traffic offences, animal welfare violations and further criminal offences.

In the context of hunting, practices are employed that animal protection laws actually prohibit. In doing so, hobby hunters frequently inflict considerable pain on sentient beings. In addition, incidents occur every year in which stray shots or ricochets injure or even kill people, rifle bullets strike houses, or walkers suddenly come under fire.

In the view of IG Wild beim Wild, there is no need for hobby hunters annual medical-psychological fitness assessments modeled on the Netherlands, as well as a binding upper age limit. The largest age group among hobby hunters today is 65+. In this group, age-related limitations such as declining eyesight, slowed reaction times, lapses in concentration, and cognitive deficits increase statistically and significantly. At the same time, accident analyses show that the number of serious hunting accidents involving injuries and fatalities rises significantly from middle age onward.

The regular reports of hunting accidents, fatal errors of conduct, and the misuse of hunting weapons highlight a structural problem. The private ownership and use of lethal firearms for recreational purposes largely escapes continuous oversight. From the perspective of IG Wild beim Wild, this is no longer justifiable. A practice based on voluntary killing that simultaneously generates considerable risks for humans and animals loses its social legitimacy.

Hobby-hunting is furthermore rooted in speciesism. Speciesism describes the systematic devaluation of non-human animals solely on the basis of their species membership. It is comparable to racism or sexism and can be justified neither culturally nor ethically. Tradition does not substitute for moral scrutiny.

Critical scrutiny is especially indispensable in the area of hobby hunting. Few other fields are so thoroughly shaped by euphemistic narratives, half-truths, and deliberate disinformation. Where violence is normalized, narratives frequently serve as justification. Transparency, verifiable facts, and an open public debate are therefore essential.