Hunting,
an added value for Biodiversity

The degradation of wildlife habitats, due mostly to intensive agriculture, ecosystem fragmentation, industrial pollution and mass tourism, has received two reactions from society, with important consequences for the hunting world. On the one hand, the necessity to safeguard the incredible natural heritage that surrounds us must be taken into consideration and, on the other hand, reinforced expectation vis-à-vis the hunting world, due to their role as managers of nature. Undeniably, the hunter is the object of a certain amount of public attention, more so than other users of nature.

In Europe, hunting was a necessity for thousands of years; afterwards, it became a right. Today, devoting oneself to hunting brings with it a notion of "duty" on the hunters' part. Hunting is also a tool to manage wildlife and their habitats. Hunters integrate dimensions of duty, competence and result into their practice:

Hunting is more and more widely accepted by many non-hunters, as it participates in nature conservation by means of maintaining and improving habitats, as well as by means of managing the species that inhabit them.

Hunters often organise themselves into structures that can represent them and assist them with the technical missions that they fix. For example, they come up with management plans for game species and contribute to safeguarding habitats (including numerous wetlands). These managerial objectives have largely become part of everyday life. The hunter's involvement in managing habitats and wildlife throughout the year is more and more appreciated for what it is by a good number of actors who use the same areas. Many hunting associations and federations include conservationists within their membership or employees. And the opposite is also true - large nature conservation associations appeal to hunters and hunting for the management of natural areas and the animal species that live in them.

The Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the E.U. (FACE) promotes hunting according to the principles of rational and sustainable use of natural resources, for the purpose of wildlife conservation and management, as well as habitat protection, creation and restoration.

The European Commission systematically invites FACE to participate in the works that concern, in many ways, wildlife, their habitats and their management. Conservationists and hunters share the same areas, with often similar and reconcilable ultimate objectives. This new dialogue between hunters and conservationists directly benefits wildlife and their habitats.

Hunters have initiated many steps in favour of wildlife and biodiversity in general. This publication presents some examples in a series of specific case studies. Enjoy !

Brussels, September 2004