Germany and Austria are hunting poachers

There is more and more poaching in Germany and Austria; often because of the money. A cooperation between animal protection and the authorities of both countries is now taking action against this.

Vienna/Munich – The poachers are on the loose: The authorities in Germany and Austria are recording an increase in illegal hunting of wild animals. According to the Austrian wildlife crime report, around 200 wild birds fell victim to illegal persecution in the Alpine republic between 2016 and 2022 – as did 16 strictly protected mammals, including wolves, lynxes, beavers and otters. Only 13 perpetrators were convicted.

Poachers in Austria and Germany – the number of illegally killed animals is increasing

The Bavarian police recorded an increase in poaching by five percent in 2023, 587 crimes were registered, only 63 percent of the cases could be solved. The category of poaching includes killed wild animals that are not allowed to be hunted, such as lynx, birds of prey or otters. There were also 263 cases of game poaching, i.e. the hunting of game such as deer, roe deer or wild boar – animals that can be hunted if you have a hunting license and a territory or permission. In addition, the closed periods must be adhered to.

If these conditions are not met, a fatal shot at a game is de facto poaching. There was an increase of 5.6 percent; the clearance rate in these cases is just 33.1 percent. This should now be reflected in the project wildLIFEcrime change. “For many strictly protected or rare animal species, illegal persecution is one of the most common causes of death and represents a massive problem for species protection,” says the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Poachers' weapons: traps, poison bait, firearms

Poison bait, traps and firearms are often used. Various types of traps, some of which contain live bait, are used primarily to track birds of prey. According to WWF, 2,238 birds of prey were killed in Germany from 2005 to 2021, and only seven percent of these cases were resolved. Twelve lynxes were killed between 2013 and 2023, as well as 83 wolves since 1990.

A cooperation between the WWF, the Austrian State Criminal Police Office, the police headquarters of Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate, BirdLife Austria, the University of Bremen, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Ökobüro, Luchs Bayern eV, Committee against Bird Murder eV and the Ministry of the Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia should put a stop to animal killers in the future.

Citizens can report illegally killed animals in the online database – In Bavaria, poachers are hunted with dog patrols

In addition to implementing preventive measures such as active conflict management in hot spot areas, the project aims to ensure that cases are discovered, effectively processed, investigated and poachers are consistently held accountable. Police departments and public prosecutors should receive further professional training and the exchange of information across borders should be improved.

The core of the project is one Case database, where every citizen can register a poached animal. “The main goal is to improve education, but poaching is also a cross-border phenomenon,” reports Karl Frauenberger from the BKA in Vienna. “A lynx released in Slovenia was shot in Carinthia, another disappeared without a trace.”

The Bavarian police headquarters in Upper Palatinate are now conducting nature patrols with dog handlers on forests and field paths in April after many birds of prey were killed in the district. Walkers should be asked about the issue, and officials will also specifically look for poison bait or killed birds.

Competition, trophy hunting, illegal game trade: That's why poaching happens

According to WWF, the perpetrators behind wildlife crime range from individuals to organized crime groups. “International motives for these crimes are often financial in nature, as the illegal trade in animal products promises considerable profits,” says the WWF. In Germany and Austria there are often land use conflicts.

“Here, the habitat for wild animals is restricted by agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure projects and settlement expansion, and human-wildlife conflicts occur,” it says. This affects lynxes and wolves, but also otters and beavers, which catch fish or cut down trees and flood meadows. Birds of prey are often killed illegally because of a perceived threat to poultry populations.

In Italy, animal rights activists are registering increased illegal hunting of brown bears, which are seen as competition or a threat. The authorities have already officially had a bear shot. There is always trouble about black fishermen, for example on the Isar.