Jagd, Jagdrecht#

Hunting: According to the federalist principle, hunting comes under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, i.e., each province has its own hunting laws. Essentially, the right to hunt is vested in the ownership of land ("Eigen-Jagd"). The minimum size for a hunt (hunting district) is 115 hectares, except in the provinces of Burgenland and Tirol, where the minimum area is 300 hectares. Smaller areas are consolidated into municipal (Gemeinde) or co-operative (Genossenschaft) hunts. There are close to 12,000 such hunting areas in Austria.

Some 350,000 head of hoofed game (red deer, roe deer, chamois, mouflon, and wild boar) and 600,000 other game animals (hare, fox, etc.) and game birds (pheasant, wild duck, etc.) are bagged annually, bringing approximately 10 million kilograms of game to the market per year. The hunting of all types of hoofed game, except for wild boar, is only permitted within the scope of authorised kill limits, which stipulate not only the number of each species to be killed each season, but also their age and sex. Red deer, roe deer, and chamois are hunted mainly in the second half of the year, small game (hare, pheasant) in the months of October and November.

Each province has a hunting association (Landesjagdverband) which represents the interests of its hunters. These associations are set up as public corporations under an umbrella organisation, which in turn represents Austrian hunting interests with respect to the federal administration and abroad.

In Austria there are about 110,000 persons who hunt. Hunters come from all social strata. Approximately 10,000 hunters are employed as hunting supervisory authorities, either full-time or as a side occupation. The main purpose of hunting today is the regulation of surplus game population and the creation and conservation of habitats of the species entrusted to the hunters by law. Winter feeding constitutes an important element of game conservation.

Literature#