Hunting sector launches online reporting point for damage and vandalism

To increase the safety of the hunter, Hubertus Vereniging Vlaanderen is launching an online reporting point for damage and vandalism.

Hunting pulpits set on fire, stolen wildlife cameras, litter deliberately dumped along hunting lodges: vandalism in the countryside takes many forms.

That is why Hubertus Vereniging Vlaanderen is launching an online reporting point for damage and vandalism – a new initiative where hunters can report damage and destruction of hunting property, report disturbance in hunting areas, and warn fellow hunters about poaching and illegal catching activities in the area.

The demand for a central hotline comes from within the sector itself, because hunters say they feel increasingly targeted by anti-hunting organizations and rabid opponents of wildlife management, who sometimes act boldly.

By systematically entering the infringements, the phenomenon will first become clear, hopes Hubertus Vereniging Vlaanderen. Local hunting groups can then use the figures in hand – if they reveal a much-ravaged region, for example – to take concrete steps, together with the police and local authorities.

The hotline, which can be found on the website of Hubertus Vereniging Vlaanderen, not only contains a form where hunters, drivers and special field rangers must enter a detailed description of the damage found, but also a public map, visible to everyone and on which all reports appear. In the long run, this shows the extent of the phenomenon at a glance, and also shows the most common forms of vandalism through the various icons.

With the hotline, the organization wants to increase the safety of hunters in the field, and discourage hunting saboteurs (who seem to organize themselves mainly online). Hunting may still be a polemical subject, according to Hubertus Vereniging Vlaanderen, but respect for other people’s property and physical integrity remains indispensable.