Population rejects animal cruelty and hunting of endangered species
Vienna (OTS) – „In a broadcast today, “Jag Austria” celebrates the supposedly high level of support for hunting among the population. This is despite the fact that the question asked in the survey begins with “Regardless of your opinion on hunting” (!). In reality, approval of hunting in Austria is in free fall, as an analysis by the Market Institute (1) shows. Within a few years (from 2015 to 2023) it fell from 42% to just 27%. It is even lower among those under 50. The referendum for a federal hunting law clears things up.
Instead of throwing smoke grenades, representatives of traditional hunting should ask themselves why approval of their activities is falling so sharply. Here are some reasons:
- Several animal species have no closed season, meaning they are killed all year round. Animal children who lose their mother as a result starve to death.
- Cruel hunting methods such as trap hunting, den hunting and gate hunting are common practice.
- Hunters in Austria are killing endangered species such as turtle doves, pochards, snipes and partridges, even though their populations have plummeted.
- Deer and roe deer are far too often fed improperly at the expense of forest regeneration in order to be able to “harvest” as many and large trophies as possible.
- Tens of thousands of animals are killed simply because hunters see them as competition for their prey.
An ecological hunting reform, as called for by the referendum for a federal hunting law, is highly timely and would also be in the interests of a hunter community that does not want to remain stuck in the past.
The greenwashing campaign run by Jagd Österreich would instead like to suggest that hunting has nothing to do with hunting, but is a kind of nature observation. “The 200,000 birds annually in Austria’s hunting statistics apparently somehow die on their own,” says Prof. Dr. Rudolf Winkelmayer, representative of the referendum for a federal hunting law.
“To this day, Austria does not have hunting on ours open letter reacted,” regrets Prof. Dr. Winkelmayer continued, “Apparently she lacks the arguments. If hunting ends up on the dung heap of history, the state hunting associations will have themselves to blame for their inability to reform.”
The referendum “For a Federal Hunting Law” formulated 14 principles that should be implemented in a federal hunting law. The initiative made up of AG Wild Animals, the Ecological Hunting Association, Animal Protection Austria and VGT is currently promoting declarations of support for the referendum, which all people eligible to vote in Austria can make at any district or municipal office and online around the clock using a cell phone signature.
(1)
Questions & Contact:
VGT – ASSOCIATION AGAINST ANIMAL FACTORIES
Clemens Purtscher
0677 61220082
media@vgt.at
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