Hunting trophies Every hunter's tradition

Decorative or collector's items are referred to as hunting trophies, which come from killed animals and which the hunter is entitled to as a trophy for killing the animal in question. They can be easily collected (usually out of passion), attached to hats or belt buckles as so-called hunting jewelry, or sold.

Typical hunting trophies are horns, antlers and teeth of mammals such as wild boar and red deer, claws of various birds of prey and bird feathers (e.g. jay mirror feathers and pheasant tail feathers). The skins of martens, foxes and bears as well as rabbit paws or fox paws are also collected as trophies.

Trophies as ornaments and memories

It is common for hunters to use only game they have killed as a trophy. It is a well-known fact that one should never adorn oneself with other hunters' feathers. Hunters consider it improper to adorn themselves with trophies they did not hunt themselves.

Breeding decisions are made when shooting deer and deer to obtain valuable trophies . The shape of the antlers depends largely on genetic information, but also on the quality of the pasture and the general health of the animal. In order to exclude animals with bad characteristics from breeding, yearling stags with antlers shorter than the ears are primarily shot. Young deer with well-developed antlers, on the other hand, are exempt because they are supposed to introduce the genes into the territorial population at this time.

expertise and experience

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, crowned antlers (antlers with three or more points at the tip of the antler) may only be shot from the age of 10. The violations were the subject of numerous legal proceedings in Switzerland and Austria.

There are no legal regulations on the shape of trophies for shooting roe deer as a trophy, but in Germany shooting bucks is only permitted until mid-October. In autumn the roe bucks shed their antlers, which lasts until May (the new hunting season starts on May 1st).