Quail Hunting with Illegal Decoys: BirdLife Raises Alarm
In Burgenland, the only federal state in Austria where hunting the quail, which is endangered across Europe, is still allowed, there are apparently massive legal violations. An investigation by the bird protection organization BirdLife Austria uncovered the systematic use of illegal sound decoys in the district of Neusiedl am See – partly right next to the Neusiedlersee-Seewinkel National Park.
According to the EU Birds Directive, the quail is strictly protected. Electronic decoys are clearly prohibited as they lure birds specifically into shooting range.
Twelve decoys detected in five areas
BirdLife teams were in the area for several nights in the first half of September and were able to document twelve active decoys in five hunting areas. In the following days, active hunting was carried out there.
"This is clear evidence that these devices were specifically used for hunting quails, whose population is in sharp decline," explains Johannes Hohenegger of BirdLife Austria. The method is particularly insidious: "The devices play bird calls incessantly at night, luring the animals into seemingly safe zones – and at dawn, they are shot."
Shooting Numbers Support Suspicion of Illegal Hunting
A look at the official hunting statistics reveals the urgency: Between 2021 and 2023, 500 to 700 quails were shot annually in Burgenland – during a hunting season of only one month.
BirdLife assumes that the majority of these shootings are carried out using prohibited sound lures. "Our sample suggests several hundred uses of such devices per year," says Hohenegger.
NGO Demands Hunting Ban and Reform of Supervision
BirdLife calls for an immediate stop to quail hunting – also in line with recommendations from the EU Commission. A reform of the hunting supervision system, which has largely failed to control such practices, is also necessary. "That friendly neighboring hunters do not control each other is human – but that politics has not reformed this system to this day is the real problem," says Hohenegger.
(Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.