Komitee gegen den Vogelmord e.V. Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS)

Komitee gegen den Vogelmord e. V.
Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS)

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Release of huntable species in Germany

Pheasant Pen in North Rhine-Westphalia
Pheasant Pen in North Rhine-Westphalia

In German small game shooting estates it is common practice for the mass release of huntable animals in order to ensure enough "game" is brought before the hunters shotguns. Tame and non-native species or domestic breeds are released into the open landscape, which have no place there. This has little to do with ecological management and a lot more to do with "hunting justice".

The pheasant originating from Asia is the species most commonly released for shooting. Galliformes were once kept the antiquity as pet. In fact, pheasants were only introduced as "game" across Europe at the end of the 19th century. In terms of the long-term, pheasant numbers do not maintain well in our cleared out agricultural landscape and in the prevailing climate - without constant re-stocking, the hunting-routes become more and more established like a well trodden path. 

In wetlands, ducks are released on a large scale. For this, the hunters usually rely on 'brood breeding ducks', a location-loyal breeding form. In some ponds, hundreds of chicks are released and supplied with large quantities of food. The faeces of the animals and the food spread on the shore and quickly pollute the water, the ponds degenerate through eutrophication caused by the poor management of the non-native birds.