In Styria

Hunters arm themselves against African swine fever

Climate change, wolves and bears, African swine fever: Styrian hunters gave an overview of the status quo of the forests and their animals on Monday. Above all, they are arming themselves against African swine fever. Dogs are being specially trained for detection.

There have already been cases in Hungary and Slovakia, but not yet in Austria. And yet the Styrian hunting community is arming itself against the outbreak of African swine fever - a viral disease that affects wild boars just as much as domestic pigs and is fatal for the animals. It is not dangerous for humans.

"We are currently preparing a two-day emergency exercise together with Slovenia," says Simone Schmiedtbauer (ÖVP), Member of the Provincial Council for Agriculture, and part of these preparations is the training of hunting dogs as so-called cadaver detection dogs. They find dead animals in the forest so that they can then be "disposed of in an epidemic-friendly manner". 28 dog teams are to be deployed. What does the exercise look like in practice? "Swine fever is anything but a nice thing," warns Schmiedtbauer. "An area is fenced off - and then it's shot." Many domestic pigs would also have to be slaughtered to contain the disease.

Simone Schmiedtbauer(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Particular caution is therefore required with meat from abroad. In some cases, products containing infected meat are processed, imported into Austria, thrown away and then eaten by wild animals. "The viruses can survive for a year and a half in a raw ham," says Schmiedtbauer.

Climate change is affecting wild animals
The current high temperatures are not having too bad an effect on wild animals, says Franz Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau, the provincial master hunter. "The animals have to adapt quickly to the green, fresh food. It can upset their stomachs and they get diarrhea, but that soon subsides." 

The situation is more difficult in winter. "The chamois has a coat for minus 20 degrees, but at Christmas it's plus degrees. They sweat."

Wolf and co. remain an issue
Of course, the hunters did not skip the biggest topic of recent years. What to do with bears, wolves and co. "The number of kills is increasing, especially of young animals," says Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau. "The incidents are increasing." Bears are becoming more and more of an issue because they are migrating north from Slovenia. And the raccoon is spreading from Bavaria - a cute but invasive species.

Provincial Councillor Schmiedtbauer once again defended the Styrian wolf ordinance, which allows the shooting of "problem animals". However, humans must also show more consideration for nature: "Most game in the Graz district is killed by dogs. Animal welfare doesn't stop at the end of the leash."