The German Animal Welfare Association and its Rhineland-Palatinate regional association are disappointed with the current status of the hunting law amendment. They are calling for clear improvements to the draft law and a commitment to animal welfare, as promised by the Rhineland-Palatinate state government in its coalition agreement. On Tuesday, 17 June, a hearing on the draft law will take place in the state parliament's environmental committee.
‘A comprehensive amendment to the state hunting law in Rhineland-Palatinate is long overdue. However, the state government has already withdrawn important changes that would have advanced animal welfare in the legislative process – under pressure from hunters, who continue to have sovereignty in forests and fields and want to stick to methods that violate animal welfare,’ criticises Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Association. Anna-Lena Busch, chairwoman of the Rhineland-Palatinate regional association of the German Animal Welfare Federation, adds: "In its coalition agreement, the state government promised that animal welfare would be of paramount importance and therefore have a firm place in the Rhineland-Palatinate state constitution. This must apply all the more to hunting and the killing of animals associated with it. We call on the state government not to give in any further, but to ensure at least a minimum level of animal welfare in hunting law."
The German Animal Welfare Association and its Rhineland-Palatinate regional association had already advocated in a statement in October 2023 on the first draft law, in discussions with the responsible department and at public association hearings, for a complete ban on hunting methods that violate animal welfare, such as burrow and trap hunting, the killing of dogs and cats in the context of hunting protection, and the training of hunting dogs on live animals. However, after amendments were withdrawn, the current draft law only provides for a ban on lethal traps and a ban on training hunting dogs on live ducks that have been rendered flightless. From an animal welfare perspective, these points must be retained as a matter of urgency. Animal welfare organisations are also calling for at least a comprehensive ban on the shooting of cats and dogs, a complete ban on hunting methods that violate animal welfare, such as burrow hunting and falconry, and a fundamental ban on training hunting dogs on live animals – not only ducks, but also foxes in fox dens and wild boars in enclosures. According to the German Animal Welfare Association, animal species such as coots and collared doves, which cause no damage and are not used for food, as well as endangered or declining species such as hares and quails, must be removed from hunting law. There is no ‘reasonable cause’ for killing them, as required by the Animal Welfare Act in Germany. Animal rights activists sharply criticise the planned inclusion of wolves in hunting law. According to scientific criteria, the conservation status of wolf populations is still considered to be predominantly ‘unfavourable’, which does not justify blanket culling and thus inclusion in hunting law in the foreseeable future.
