TV Tip: Off Their Rockers – What Goes Wrong with Hobby Hunting

SWR documentary «Off Their Rockers» reveals hunting scandals, trophy events, and the hunting ban in Geneva. Broadcast date: 29 June 2016.

Editorial team Wild beim Wild — 11 June 2016

Hobby hunting recreational hunting has come under fire.

The image of the hobby hunter as the guardian spirit of the hunting ground — protecting and nurturing wildlife, preserving the peace of creation — no longer quite holds up. More and more often, voices are saying: hunters should not just shoot animals, but take on greater responsibility for nature and the environment. SWR Television will broadcast «Off Their Rockers – What Goes Wrong with Hobby Hunting» on 29 June 2016 at 9 p.m.

A shift in thinking has taken place. Many hobby hunters want to step out of the shadowy forest corner and be accountable to the public for what they do. But the negative headlines are still dominated by shooters who are in it for the thrill of the kill, for the biggest possible trophy and for the shooting of wild animals as a spectacle. Author Lutz Wetzel investigated hunting grounds to find out what reality looks like in German forests. Are the hunting blinds occupied only by trigger-happy thrill-seekers, or also by responsible stewards of nature?

Nature conservation organisations are increasingly clashing with hobby hunters who hold outdated attitudes. Tom Mitschke from NABU Lüneburg is on the trail of a hunting scandal: a baron is fattening thousands of wild ducks in a protected biotope in order to let people shoot them for money. The birds’ faeces are turning the waters into a cesspool. On top of that, the hunting landlord offers «Kill for Cash» bookings — shots at semi-tame wildlife in exchange for payment. Can the conservationist convince the authorities to take action against the nobleman?

Businessman Wolfgang Grupp presents himself to the public as a model entrepreneur. However, in the Allgäu region, farmers are protesting against him because he is illegally keeping deer on his hunting grounds. They are eating the farmers’ fields bare. How does «Mr. Trigema» respond to the protests of local residents? «I am being harassed by them!» Grupp complains. What kind of hobby hunter is the «King of Burladingen»?

Forester Hubert Kapp from Schluchsee says: «Hobby hunting must not be a recreational leisure at the animals' expense.» In his continuing education courses, hobby hunters are taught what a shot does to an animal's body. The film crew accompanies him and learns how red deer can be hunted without stress using new methods.

The animal welfare advocates at PETA would ideally like to see recreational hunting abolished altogether. In their view, the problem of overabundant wildlife populations would resolve itself if hunting were stopped. The film crew travels to the Swiss canton of Geneva, where recreational hunting has been banned. Have wildlife populations regulated themselves?

Related dossiers and articles:

More on the topic of recreational hunting: In our hunting dossier we compile fact checks, analyses, and background reports.