German hunters take toll on cats

The Sunday Telegraph
Sunday, October 23, 2005

MUNICH -- They answer to names such as Fritzi and Schatzi rather than Tiddles or Ginger, but as the success of Geliebte Katze (Sweetheart Cat) magazine shows, German household cats have just as many adoring fans as in other countries.

Except, that is, when they stray too far from the back garden -- at which point they risk the less friendly attentions of the German hunting fraternity.

Now, after an animal welfare organization revealed that up to 400,000 felines are killed by hunters each year, outraged cat lovers are demanding an end to a law that makes their pets fair game when more than 200 metres from a built-up area.

The German Hunters' Association, a powerful lobby group that enjoys the patronage of many senior politicians, admits that the claimed tally of dead cats by the country's Association for Animal Protection is "probably correct." It insists, however, that rare wildlife and valuable game birds are at risk from escaped domestic cats that turn feral and need to be culled.

Legally, their members may shoot cats, dogs or any other creature that is a potential threat to wildlife as long as they are beyond the 200-metre zone.

But the nation's cat lovers, along with animal-rights groups, claim that growing numbers are simply shot for fun as other wildlife, such as boar and pine martens, becomes scarce.

Nicole Hallek, 49, was walking with her dogs and her cat in the fields that back onto her garden near Augsburg in south Germany when she fell victim to the hunters. She claims she was no more that 50 metres from her home when she heard a shot behind her. Her five-year-old cat Molly had been killed instantly.

The reason for the high kill rate appears to be the relatively large number of hunters in Germany -- about 300,000 -- and the proximity of many suburban housing developments to forests where they operate.

The German Hunters' Association said: "The Federal Hunting Law only allows hunters to shoot pets that have gone feral and are living in the wild. The majority of hunters follow this rule responsibly. But one cannot forget that half a million pets are dumped every year in Germany alone. A large percentage of these are cats that go feral when they live outside and many wild animals fall victim to the ones that survive. Defending game from damage is a legal duty of the hunting community."