Hunters express serious concerns about falling game stocks

“Maybe also the blue tongue,” said Naaldenberg. This year is considered a disaster year among hunters. Hunting season has just opened, but minutes are nearly impossible to find. A variant of the myxomatosis virus, known from rabbits, has now spread to rabbits. The hare plague was barely under control, and on the German side of the border the number of hares has decreased by as much as 80 percent.

Responsibilities of hunters

“That’s why you shouldn’t shoot him,” Naaldenberg concludes. “A good hunter knows his angle; that is a year’s work.” Anyone who thinks that hunters only walk around with a gun to shoot for fun is completely wrong. “You are a conservationist, a vandalist and an advisor to farmers, forest managers.” , residents and tourists.”

When the farmers of the area cut the young grass in the spring, we know that there may be a young deer in the tall grass. Then we remove them. We draw farmers’ attention to the importance of wood cutting as cover for wild animals. If crows cause trouble in emerging corn, we shoot to chase them; this also applies to wild geese and pigeons. First we try to drive the birds away – we do this several times – and only as a last resort do we shoot. This is how we generally keep animal populations young and healthy; more resistant to viruses, which now have a major impact on wildlife,” Naaldenberg explains about the area he manages, with the permission of landowners. In addition, hunters also damage resistance: if the deer population is too high, traffic accidents increase, and hunters then use them to restore the balance.

Concerns about declining populations

Naaldenberg is concerned about the rapidly declining population. Nature is struggling with pests that didn’t exist before, he says. He makes trips almost every day, both on official inspections of fields and forests and today through a camp where the wheat seeds are ripe. A hare darts away, a pheasant calls and a cuckoo prays above. “Not much seems to be going on with the hares on this side of the old railway line, but on the other side they are dropping in droves. They stumble and then fall over.” The deer seem to be rude: “You can hardly pet them, and of course that’s not healthy.” The diseases spread locally. On the other side of the Borken railway line is wet land with more mosquitoes, which are virus spreaders, according to Naaldenberg.

Powerless and afraid of new viruses

The hunter from Kotten feels powerless. “There’s nothing you can do. You can warn people: keep your distance and do not visit associations until there is a corona vaccine,” he recalls. “But you can’t say to geese: ‘Take a tablet before you cross the Baltic Sea because of the bird flu.'” The story reminds her of blackbirds, which have fallen a lot there. their numbers due to the usutu virus, and wild boar. Naaldenberg fears African swine fever, which can be brought in by tourists.

Search and recovery: a long road

The Dutch Wildlife Health Center in Utrecht examines the dead animals. Maarten Post from the center said: “Dead animals are regularly reported to the DWHC. The numbers and species vary, even in the border area. We choose which animals we examine to determine the cause of death and therefore identify which wildlife diseases are common. We also assess the risks of these diseases to public health, pets and the animals themselves.” In neighboring Germany myxomatosis is currently widespread, mostly spread by mosquitoes, the Post reports. “Unfortunately vaccinating wild animals is not an option.”

Naaldenberg expects it will take five to six years for the game’s population to recover. The hares were just on their way back this spring, but myxomatosis is devastating to their population. “Viruses and blood diseases such as liver fluke should not continue like this.”