Hunting and Landscape in Denmark: Farmers' Management of Hunting Rights and Landscape Changes

Abstract

Hunting represents an important activity in Danish rural landscapes. In this paper, we analyse recent developments in farmers' management of the right to hunt and associated landscape activities in three agricultural regions based on surveys from 1995/96 and 2008. The results show that the total area on which farmers hunt has increased, especially the area on which the owner is the hunter. This indicates that interest in hunting is increasing, and the interest for hunting may play an increasing role as a landscape activity and as a motive to become a farm property owner. Concerning landscape management, non-hunters, surprisingly, seem to have a more game-friendly management practice than hunters. On the other hand, hunters own farms with forests and/or farms located in areas of high landscape heterogeneity more often than non-hunters. Local hunting associations play an interesting role in relation to non-owners' accessibility to hunting and such associations may play a significant role in the future management of the landscape as a commons.

Key Words:

• Hunting
• hunting rights
• landscape ecology
• landscape management

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jette Baagøe and Niels Kanstrup for helpful insights on history of hunting and current game management. The research draws on data from the MULTILAND project sponsored by the Danish Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.