Hunting Customs By Sonja Harmse – Muvhimi Buffalo Safaris

Earlier this year we guided a German client on his first Buffalo hunt in Africa. When the Buffalo fell, Chris offered the customary Weidmansheill or Last Bite, as a sign of respect to both the animal and the hunter. What struck me was how our client, Gerolf Blittersdorf, kneeled next to the Buffalo, patted him on the shoulder and thanked him for the hunt and his life. I thought this was a very beautiful gesture. Reflecting on the hunt, it dawned on me that there were small nuances which I observed, in the way Gerolf conducted himself during the hunt. It was different to hunting with an American client for instance and it tickled my curiosity about the different hunting customs around the world.

Gerolf, a seasoned hunter, and the owner of hunting guide training schools in Germany, was for obvious reasons the perfect person to speak to regarding the hunting customs of Germany. He gladly offered me access to a trusted site, which is used during the hunting training, so that I could read up more about this. It was indeed a fascinating read, and I thought I would share some of this newly gained knowledge with our readers who may encounter German hunters.

Hunting ethics are rooted in traditions, such as keeping a trophy of an animal which was wanted as an ornamental collector’s item. These traditions include the way that hunters behave and the language they use amongst other hunters and during a hunt. Hunting signals are also used to exchange information during hunts. Even the clothing worn by hunters forms part of the tradition of the practice of hunting.

Hunters Language refers to the technical language used by hunters to communicate precisely when hunting. Its descriptive and figurative style is not effective to use for conversational language. It is not used when communicating with non-hunters out of respect and to avoid misunderstandings. The terms used in hunting language often varies from scientific terms. Let us explore some of the terms used in German hunters’ language:

Hunting rights is a reward given to a hunter who killed the game themselves and it only applies to hooved game. Small Hunters Rights include edible organs like the tongue, spleen, heart, lungs, liver and kidney of the animal. Big Hunters Rights include all these as well as everything from the neck up to the third rib.

Schüsseltreiben refers to the meal shared by hunters, beaters and dog handlers at the end of a social hunt. During this meal, the hunting court can either punish violations or honour ethical behaviour of hunters. The punishments handed out are done in a playful manner and often relate to the group’s next round of drinks.

When it comes to hunting ethics, the German customs lean strongly to the serious side of things and refer to the written and unwritten behaviour norms of conducting a proper hunt. It is also required by law and include animal welfare, environmental protection and humanity. From a legal perspective it requires hunters to practice conservation to ensure the preservation of a species rich wildlife population. There are laws pertaining to the ammunition used to hunt specific species, closed seasons to adhere to nesting and breeding seasons and the reduction of suffering for sickly animals. Unwritten principals include behaviour to give animals a fair chance, for instance not shooting a rabbit that is crouched in its nest, or only hunting game birds while passing through them. Another principal is to protect young animals from suffering by not shooting their parents. Hunts must be conducted with suitable hunting dogs and should not be done from a too great distance. Branch signs are used widely during hunts and are very interesting yet practical. When hunting their own country, hunters will only use branches broken off from trees native to Germany. The German hunters highly value the “one shot – one kill” philosophy.

The hunter’s word of honour as written by Oskar von Riesenthal in 1880 is followed to this day and reads as follows – “It is the hunter’s badge of honour that he protects and cares for his game, hunts in a sportsmanlike manner, as is proper, and honours the Creator in his creatures.” The hunting traditions that have evolved over centuries are as important to Germans as the hunt itself, and the customs have been handed over from father to son. By German standards, hunting is not a sport or a hobby, but rather a mission of public concern. The conscientious hunter undertakes this task with the aim of preserving a population of robust wildlife, ensuring that both the quantity and diversity align with the ecological limits of the habitat in question.