Wehrheim: Driven Hunt Reveals Its Ugly Face
Driven hunt in Wehrheim documented: animal suffering, safety risks and an outdated hunting tradition. Why this practice is no longer appropriate for our time.
In Wehrheim (Hesse), another large-scale driven hunt took place.
Together with Wolfsschutz Deutschland and a Berlin-based journalist, the events were documented. What became visible casts a harsh spotlight on a practice that is long overdue for abolition.
For the first time, the notorious Swiss flushing dogs were no longer deployed. Fewer hobby hunters and beaters also participated, resulting in fewer shots fired. But these are mere footnotes. The fundamental problem remains unchanged: animals are systematically chased, driven into panic and killed in agony — for a tradition that is more reminiscent of medieval rituals than of a modern society.
Particularly troubling: the municipality has been concealing the date of the driven hunt for years. As a result, completely unsuspecting walkers and families once again found themselves suddenly in the midst of the militant proceedings — an untenable situation that recklessly puts people's safety at risk.
Bloody Reality at the Forest's Edge
Only a few animals appeared during the hobby hunt: a fleeing wild boar in the morning, a stag in the afternoon. But in the end, the true face of this “form of hunting” was revealed: a hind lay at the roadside with a deep abdominal gunshot wound. This animal in all likelihood died in unbearable agony. A symbol of the suffering that is accepted as a given in driven hunts.
Also striking: increasingly, young women are being deployed as beaters. Yet rather than shaping the image of a reflective “new generation of hunters,” some of them behaved aggressively and provocatively — apparently irritated solely by the presence of critical observers.
False Arguments Exposed
The justifications for driven hunts do not withstand scrutiny:
- Population control? Animals shot in the short term lead to higher reproduction rates in the long term.
- Disease prevention? African swine fever cannot be stopped by this means.
- Edible meat? Due to panic and sustained stress, the animals are full of adrenaline, rendering the meat unusable.
What remains is a cruel tradition and a hunting lobby that defends it by any means necessary.
Appeal to Society
The driven hunt in Wehrheim is not an isolated case, but an example of an outdated system that legitimises animal suffering and puts both humans and animals at risk. Wolfsschutz Deutschland therefore calls on people not to look away:
- Document such hunts, always in groups of at least two, wearing high-visibility clothing.
- Stay on the paths and ensure your own safety.
- And above all: bring the images and reports to the public.
Driven hunts are neither necessary nor in keeping with the times. They are relics of a bloody past. As long as animals die in a hail of bullets, walkers are endangered, and specious arguments are put forward, public pressure on politicians and authorities is more important than ever.
Dossier: Hunting and Animal Welfare
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