Bavarian conservationists protest common scoter hunting

Conservation groups in Bavaria, including the Landesbund für Vogel- und Naturschutz (LBV), Bund Naturschutz in Bayern (BN), and the Ornithologische Gesellschaft in Bayern (OG), are protesting a proposal to continue hunting common scoters (Gänsesäger) along Alpine rivers.

The proposal, submitted by the fisheries advisory service for Upper Bavaria, seeks to extend hunting at three river sections through 2031. Environmentalists argue the move is a “senseless mass slaughter,” noting that approximately 700 birds have already been killed despite an estimated breeding population of only 500 pairs in Bavaria.

Critics claim the advisory service is attempting to bypass public involvement through an expedited process and is using the birds as a “scapegoat” for declining fish stocks, rather than focusing on the renaturation of waterways.