The exception of the hunting world
What differentiates the Germany from the other European nations and has led to the number of practicing hunters in the country having increased in recent years, almost the only exception in the European hunting landscape? This question and subsequent considerations prompted the Italian Hunting Federation to promote a specific working meeting on the topic of the Steering Committee of FACE, the Federation of European Hunting Associations, which it organized and hosted on November 4th in Rome. This is a topic of great interest and importance for all hunters, not just the associations that represent them, as FACE President Laurens Hoedemaker emphasized in his opening remarks, thanking him for the initiative, and on which the very future of hunting inevitably depends.
How growth was possible
Maximum attention and anticipation, therefore, awaited the presentation by Helmut Dammann-Tamke, President of the Deutscher Jagdverband (DJV), the German Hunters' Association. In his clear and detailed presentation, Tamke highlighted several points that have led to the growth—which he himself described as "unimaginable"—in the number of hunters, amounting to a 41% increase compared to thirty years ago. Among these is certainly an ever-increasing abundance of huntable game, such as ungulates, compared to a decline in the so-called noble sedentary game, which is nevertheless present in satisfactory numbers in almost all districts. He then highlighted the link between hunting and land ownership, with the consequence that owners of forest or agricultural land must be members of a hunting association, which also gives them significant political weight. Many territorial associations under the DJV are also recognized as environmental protection associations in the state where they are established. This means they participate, at least in the consultative phase, in decision-making processes related to environmental issues, playing a significant role.
The attitude of society
Two particularly notable findings are related to the composition of German hunters: over the past 10 years, female hunters have increased from 20% to 28% of all hunters, with an average age of 35 to 33, and urban hunters have increased from 19% to 23%. This is obviously being studied with interest by the DJV itself, which, among the factors underlying this phenomenon, in addition to those mentioned, notes a favorable attitude toward hunting in German society, based on two "changes": one in dietary habits, where people eat less meat, but seek higher-quality and increasingly ethical products; and the other in climate. In Germany, hunters, by protecting forests through wildlife management, are perceived as climate protectors, a fact also accepted by the German Greens.
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