Rarer to see in the district: The number of wild boars has decreased, the number of shots has fallen to the level of ten years ago - about the time when the wild boars spread in the district. © Lino Mirgeler/dpa
The number of wild boars shot in the 2022/23 hunting year fell to its lowest level in around ten years. According to the district hunters, the reason for this is the consistent hunting in recent years.
County – The number of wild boars in the county has decreased significantly. This is the assumption of Hartwig Görtler, chairman of the district hunters' association. Definitely, it is less than three years ago, when almost 1200 wild boars were shot per year. In the past hunting year 2022/23, which ran until the end of March, there were only 354 wild boars killed by hunters. 14 others died after traffic accidents or for other reasons. 368 is the lowest value in the past ten years. The figures are taken from the route lists that the district office has just compiled and which were presented at the compulsory show at Gut Rieden at the weekend.
At previous conservation shows (there were none during the pandemic), the wild boar had taken up a lot of space. Years ago, farmers complained about massive damage caused by the black coats and demanded increased hunting. In 2017 and 2020, more than 1000 wild boars were killed. There were so many then, but not anymore.
Especially young wild boars shot
Nationwide, the number of shots declined, says Hartwig Görtler. Ten years ago, there was hardly any experience with hunting wild boars in this country, because there were hardly any. In the meantime, the strategy is having an effect: For years, hunters have been shooting mainly young animals, last year there were more than 300. Few brooks (female wild boars) can also give birth to few offspring. "This is geared towards the long term," says the chairman of the district hunters' association about the strategy. In the record year 2020, the hunters had killed 1197 wild boars, of which around 1070 were juveniles. The number of launches had doubled at that time, partly because there were new technical possibilities such as night vision devices. However, technology alone is not responsible for the decline in the population.
However, fewer wild boars create new problems. There are now groups of ten to twelve animals that move from territory to territory and use the free space offered by the small population. Furthermore, cooperation between hunters and farmers is needed so that hunting can continue to be successful. Precautions for hunting, such as free strips between fields and forests, where wild boars can be shot, are still necessary, says Görtler. However, the hunters do not know how high the damage caused by wild boars has been recently.
Georg Holzer, district chairman of the farmers' association and farmer in Diemendorf, still remembers the – as he says – "massive" wild boar damage a few years ago. Mind you, before the mentioned strong hunting. His impression: "The hunters are better behind it." Isolated young animals have recently been spotted by colleagues from agriculture, "but no serious damage," says Holzer.
New ideas for deer hunting
Details of the route list will be presented at the compulsory hunting show, where the trophies from the 2022/23 hunting year will also be shown. Hartwig Görtler also presented considerations for deer hunting there. The driving force behind these is often the so-called browsing, i.e. the damage in the forest by deer. There have been expert opinions on this for 37 years, but now a paradigm shift is needed, says Görtler. The mere statement that the game density is too high is not sufficient for him as a basis for higher shooting numbers. He advocates advance planning in the forest, which offers the game grazing areas and retreat areas.
There are many successful examples of this in Germany. The aim is to hunt in a more targeted manner – meaning to shoot fewer deer. To do this, hunters would also have to rethink. In the past hunting year there were around 2100 deer, i.e. almost six per day. 369 animals died in wildlife accidents, i.e. one per day. The number of other animals shot in the past hunting year remained at the level of previous years. For example, 44 hares were killed, 646 foxes and 237 badgers. In almost all areas, the number of animals killed in accidents has increased.
Hunters are worried about a new species of animal that is settling in the district - the raccoon. Two were killed in the past hunting year, another died for other reasons. Görtler urged his colleagues to hunt the raccoon consistently. (ike/mül)
