Image: Volker Weihbold
The rights of disposal of the hunters are unconstitutional and would bring owners high losses. “Due to the damage to the forest and the importance of intact forests for climate protection, there must also be a rethink in hunting,” says the Green MP and farmer Clemens Stammler.
Those who own at least 115 hectares may hunt them themselves (own hunting). According to the law, all small and medium-sized areas are combined in a cooperative for each municipality, which can be leased in bulk to those interested in hunting every six years. A hunting committee of the municipal council represents the owners’ interests. Where the hunters’ interest in high game populations and thus shooting dominates, severe browsing and peeling damage occurs. However, the natural regeneration of the forest with fir and deciduous forest would have to be guaranteed by hunting across the board.
The oö. Parliament on an adaptation of the hunting law. The main requirement is that the owners do not have to lease their land, but are allowed to hunt it themselves. Even the threat of losing a lease would force hunters to reduce overgrown wild populations. That is possible in Vorarlberg and, to a limited extent, also in Tyrol. State Hunting Association, however, strictly rejected. State huntsman Herbert Sieghartsleitner: “Impossible. That would destroy the uniform area hunting system. Then everyone does what they want.” Landowners are already sufficiently involved, even in the event of damage caused by game.
But in many communities, critics say, a consensus is impossible: “This has to be settled in Linz, otherwise the social peace in the village is endangered. The pressure from the hunters is too great,” says a forester to the OÖNachrichten. The game damage rating is too hunter-friendly. With up to 40 percent browsing, the condition of the forest is classified as very good. That should be repaired at least for fir and deciduous trees.
The Green Farmers tabled a resolution on this last week at the General Assembly of the Chamber of Agriculture. They also demand that owners have the right to a written objection to be decided by state authorities. In addition: bucks should be allowed to be shot every year from April 1st, which would make it easier to fulfill shooting plans. The Jägermeister reacted violently: “So many people have a say who have no idea.” Forestry and society as a whole with their use of space contribute to the state of the forest, but “game and hunting are made into a waddle”.
VP farmers’ union split
The green resolution did not find a majority, but the leadership of the chamber, representing the interests of the landowners, wants to take a stand soon. The forthcoming amendment to the Hunting Act will now be decisive for vital tree populations and profit-oriented forest management. The ÖVP does not want to upset the more than 20,000 hunters in the country. Landowners, on the other hand, make no secret of the fact that they can sue for a constitutional law. It is about high economic damage. According to the forest inventory, natural regeneration is necessary on 1.4 million hectares in Austria; 41 percent of this is game damage, including 115,000 hectares of protection forest.
Source: Nachrichten
