Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. That’s why general rules are only as good as their exceptions. Both tenants of the area where I am allowed to hunt died in quick succession a few years ago. The lease was therefore re-tendered for the next hunting year. It’s just stupid that I had only gotten my second annual hunting license at the time and was therefore left out – even though I knew the area well by now and, as the only holder of the hunting license, I had been taking care of almost everything for almost a year. And who was there when you couldn’t do it alone? Mostly other young hunters who were at work with enthusiasm, regardless of whether the corn harvest was coming up, high stands had to be built, educational work was being done about the breeding and setting season or we were just clearing the area of rubbish once again. I found this willingness, especially for the rather unpleasant work of a hunter’s life, to be particularly high among the young hunters. It would be nice if this commitment were recognized in some way, right? For example, by making the lease available to those who do most of the work “at the grassroots” anyway. Especially in times when personal commitment and taking responsibility seem more like exotic attributes. A case-by-case decision would be the best way to ensure that territories can be allocated to the “right people”.
Philipp von Rössing, hunter and editor at agrarheute