Hunting study 2024: Game populations are declining due to extreme weather!

Hunting study 2024: Game populations are declining due to extreme weather!

The wild animal population in Austria is facing major challenges. According to that Hunting Association In 2024, there was a dramatic decline in the number of hunting of hoofed game, including roe deer, red deer and wild boar. The extreme weather conditions, particularly heavy rains and cold spells in September, led to an increase in diseases such as pneumonia, which particularly severely affected deer. This led to an increase in the number of fallen game and prevented adequate hunting; the shooting volume fell by 7 percent and amounts to only 79,820 animals. The situation with wild boar is even more critical: there was a 41 percent decline in kills, but there is hope that the population will recover soon, as wild boars are known for their ability to reproduce quickly.

Planning the hunts

In Bavaria, however, the next three-year shooting plan for roe deer is already being drawn up. A new, simple calculation system is intended to help determine the target firing rate more effectively. This system takes into account the forest area and the browsing situation in order to determine a more realistic number for the kill. An example shows that with an average forest area of ​​300 hectares and a sustainable browsing situation, up to 55 deer could be shot annually. This methodological approach could also be important for the situation in Austria in order to be able to respond better to the challenges in the wild population, as in Hunting forum is discussed.

Regulating game populations therefore remains a crucial challenge for hunters in both countries. While the hunting statistics in Austria are heavily influenced by the extreme weather conditions and the associated health problems of the animals, the methodology in Germany encourages targeted hunting planning in order to sustainably maintain the populations.