Invasive Species: No Licence to Kill

The management of invasive species, such as the raccoon or the coypu, continues to be handled in a very one-sided manner in Germany, failing to even begin to make use of the existing possibilities provided by the EU regulation.

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — 29 February 2024

EU Regulation Provides for More Than Culling

There continues to be a very one-sided reliance on hunting, even though the underlying EU regulation does not prescribe this approach for species that are already widely distributed across large areas.

Furthermore, there are still widespread misconceptions about the management of invasive species that may stand in the way of implementing non-lethal measures, even though the legal requirements for doing so have since been unambiguously clarified.

Recreational Hunting of Raccoons and Coypus to Be Made Easier

There are currently increasing reports of efforts to facilitate hobby hunting of animals belonging to these invasive species. In Berlin, under the new government, there are said to be strong efforts to lift the ban on trap hunting once again, thereby facilitating regular hunting of the raccoon, among others; in Brandenburg and Bavaria, relaxations to hunting methods for so-called «predatory game» such as the raccoon are to be granted by permitting the use of night-sighting devices with image converters or electronic amplifiers. Reports of intensified hunting of the coypu are also multiplying.

No Licence to Kill

Against this backdrop, the German Legal Society for Animal Protection Law (Deutsche Juristische Gesellschaft für Tierschutzrecht e.V.) has examined, in a position paper, the legal framework for appropriate management of these animals, with a clear conclusion: even where management measures are deemed necessary in individual cases, this does not constitute a licence to kill.

The report is available here: Position paper of the DJGT