HUNTING AND ANIMAL PROTECTION

In the Federal Republic of Germany the handling of animals during hunt ing is governed more by the animal protection law than by the correspo nding hunting law. Points of the animal protection law which directly affect hunting are (1) the release of wild animals, (2) the training a nd examination of animals concerning attacking other animals, (3) the setting of animals on other animals, and (4) the killing of vertebrate s. Guiding principles for killing wild animals during hunting accordin g to the animal protection law are formulated and discussed in relatio n to the traditional german understanding of hunting ethics. It can be expected that hunting will increasingly become a topic of public disc ussion on animal protection, in which the ethics of hunting in relatio n to the wild animal will be dominant.