Examining commission
At the suggestion of Luis Walcher, Provincial Councilor for Agriculture and Forestry of the Province of Bolzano , the Hunting Examination Commission was confirmed for another five years. Its members are Dominik Trenkwalder, provincial official (chairman), Heinrich Aukenthaler, hunting expert, Luciano Scacchetti, hunting expert, Rino Insam, hunting expert, Ulrike Raffl, wildlife zoologist, ecology, and forestry expert, and Gabriella Meraner, wildlife zoologist, ecology, and nature conservation expert. The two provincial officials (Trenkwalder and Meraner) receive no compensation for their services.
Spring season
The commission is already in action next week: exams for hunters for the spring season will be held from April 29th. “Hunting is an important activity: it is first and foremost about controlling the population of wild animals, on the one hand to maintain stable animal health within the population, but also to minimize the harm of game to young people forest and agricultural trees. Hunters have a responsibility to the population and ecosystem which is why they must undergo extensive training, including an exam, before being allowed to hunt. Hunting is based on respect for nature,” said Councilor Walcher.
Four-part exam: theory, shooting, practice, first aid
The hunting exam is an exam for which it is necessary to be well prepared (here is the hunting exam decree). The Wildlife Management Office holds an exam twice a year. This year the spring session takes place from April 29th to May 7th, the autumn session from September 2nd to 6th. Shooting trials in Merano and San Lorenzo also take place in autumn and early summer. For the shooting exam, a written and oral theoretical test is required (wildlife sciences/ecology, hunting law, weapons and nature conservation/hunting sciences). In addition to these exams, aspiring hunters must complete an on-ground internship or practical course and pass a first aid exam. Only after having passed all four parts of the exam can the candidate request the issuance of a firearms license for hunting use.
897 candidates have passed the exam in the last five years
The results of the past term: 2.850 candidates took the exam between 2019 and 2023. The failure rate for the theory exam and the practical shooting test has remained constant at 20-30 percent in recent years. Of the 2.850 applicants, 897 earned their hunting licenses within the past five years, meaning they completed all four parts of the exam. About 80% of these are men, while 20% are women, the percentage of women is increasing. In 2023, 273 people obtained hunting licenses, a number never before achieved. The average is around 200 people per year (source: Province of Bolzano).
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