Over 21,000 valid signatures have been collected in Hungary in support of the European Citizens’ Initiative entitled “Stop Finning – Stop the Trade” against the killing of sharks for their fins, the National Election Committee (NVB) said on Thursday.
The committee established that out of the 23,986 signatures collected online by the organisers of the campaign, altogether 21,715 were valid. The NVB will send its documents verifying the authenticity of the signatures to the initiative’s contact staff to be forwarded to the European Commission, it said in a statement.
The citizens’ initiative needs one million signatures from across at least seven member states to be valid.
The minimum number in Hungary is 15,750 valid signatures.
Stop Finning aims to end the trade of fins in Europe. The European Union is one of the world’s leading exporters of fins and a major transit hub of global fin shipments, the statement said.
The re-emergence of grey wolves in Hungary causes a lot of disputes between hunters and environmentalists. Since the predators hunt for wild game as their source of food, some hunters and livestock farmers regard them as pests because the wolves cause damages by killing valuable animals.
The root of the problem
Based on the information of the Bükk National Park, currently, there are wolf packs living in the Bükk Mountains, in Mátra and in the Tarnavidék protected area, Indexreports.
According to the news outlet, the reason wolves have become more and more widespread and present in growing numbers in Hungary is forestation.
Forestation provides a better habitat for game animals that are prey to the grey wolves. Since the population of these animals grew, some wolves migrated back to the country.
However, while the wolves are highly protected animals, they can cause some serious problems indirectly. Game animals fleeing from the packs of wolves can enter urban areas. Deer and elk, for example, can be dangerous and even cause damage to the residents.
Additionally, last summer, 22 sheep have been killed by predators in Mátranovák which further worsened the reputation of wolves.
Nimród, a hunters’ magazine has recently shared that a wolf mauled and torn apart a wild male red deer near Mátranovák-Mátracserpuszta on 14 February.
Photo: Bakó Tamás / NIMRÓD Vadászújság (Hunters’ magazine)
Photo: Bakó Tamás / NIMRÓD Vadászújság (Hunters’ magazine)
Photo: Bakó Tamás / NIMRÓD Vadászújság (Hunters’ magazine)
The red deer entered an urban area which was reported by a local to the hunter’s association. However, by the time the hunters arrived, they could only find bloodstains. Thanks to a bloodhound, the hunters found the deer 1.5 kilometres away.
Unfortunately, the wolves started eating the male deer, thus it had to be put out of its misery.
Retaliation
Due to the aforementioned damages and complications the protected grey wolves can cause, it has been an open secret in the hunting society, that some people purposefully hunt grey wolves to stop them from killing the game they could sell to other hunters, RTLreported.
According to their sources, some people use carbofuran, a banned pesticide that has similar toxicity to the notorious V-series nerve agents, posing a threat also to human life. Others use bait that is infected by canine diseases.
There have been several cases when hunters dumped hundreds of kilograms of animal carcasses in areas, sometimes even protected natural reserves or near the Hungarian National Blue Trail a popular hiking route, to lure the wolves there.
An entire boneyard from dead animals found on 20 December 2020
Source: rtl.hu
One of the pile of carcasses found on 29 January 2021
Source: rtl.hu
It has to be said that while the hunters who want to get rid of wolves do this practice to be able to shoot the animals, this action poses great danger directly to hikers as well as other animals, and indirectly to people living nearby as the harmful fluids of the rotting carcasses can enter local waters.
According to Berek, experts say that they only have indirect evidence of the illegal killing of wolves.
Since there are only about 40-50 wolves in the total area of the Bükk National Park, it is evident when an adult animal disappears and its carcass is not found.
There are no perpetrators
According to RTL, since 2013, no one has been found accountable by the authorities for killing the highly protected grey wolves, but among hunters, it is said that if someone is going hunting with a rifle and a shovel, it is evident that he is going to kill a wolf.
The news outlet asked the Hungarian police about the matter, but they responded that the case of a killed wolf from 2018 has been still under investigation and they cannot give details about unclosed cases.
Hunting may be a controversial topic nowadays, but it has a long tradition in Hungary. The hunting etiquette consists of a series of codes and principles that people who pursue this sport ought to respect.
Sonlinewas the first to report about the trophies of a three-day hunting event at a popular hunting ground called Zselic in the south-western Somogy county.
According to the site, Zselic is an increasingly popular hunting location among Hungarian and foreign huntsmen. It is considered to be rich in wild game and hunting tourism greatly benefits the National Hungarian Hunting Chamber.
Sokszínűvidékwrote that due to the pandemic and the related restrictions, many German and Austrian hobby hunters could not enter Hungary. Foreign hunters are now happy that they can visit the hunting grounds without restrictions.
The large wild game stock of Somogy county attracts many hunters from abroad.
János Meiszterics, the president of the Tapsony és Vidéke Petőfi Vadásztársaság (Tapsony and Area Hunting Association) said that the region’s high quality wild game stock is abundant. He also added that he would prefer if the cold winter weather would remain, so that wild animals would stay close to the areas where the feeders are.
Meszterics also highlighted that the hunting associations in Somogy county fulfill half of their yearly quotas in the winter months.
“It is important to regulate the population size by hunting in order to mitigate substantial damage by game, not to mention that hunting tourism is a major source of income for the association.”
As the Facebook post says, the three-day hunting event took a great deal of organisation beforehand and everyone who was involved did an excellent job.
The hunters ended the event with a proper celebration as per the etiquette of Hungarian hunters. They lined up the wild game and decorated the surrounding area with branches as well as set bonfires at the four corners of the spread.
Berekreports that during the three-day event, altogether 115 wild games had been killed including mostly wild boars, a few red and European fallow deer “tarvad”, which refers to females or young males, as well as two foxes and a golden jackal.
The president of Tapsony és Vidéke Petőfi Vadásztársaság (Tapsony and Area Hunting Association) noted that they shot 650 boars out of the 750 yearly quotas in this hunting season.
“Hunting means pursuit of game, and forest murmurs, but rather forest murmurs.”
Half a century after his death, Zsigmond Széchenyi still needs no introduction, generations have grown up on his novels elaborating his domestic hunting experiences and his foreign expeditions with literary care. His works have gone through more than seventy editions in Hungarian language, one and a half million copies went to domestic readers. In addition to his novels, several statues, memorial stones and reliefs commemorate him, but hunters’ associations and schools also bear his name and the Hunting Museum in Hatvan also was named after him.
The little count used to hunt sparrows with his air rifle already at the age of seven in Sárpentele, Fejér County, hence his lifelong passion for hunting. It is also important to highlight his passion for collecting.
Although his world recorder addax trophy was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid, along with his collection of 1,300 trophies, but his hunting library, which at the time of his death numbered 3,000 volumes and can be considered a rarity even on a world scale, preserves the memory of a passionate collector.
The 20th century gave the count, who was raised as a noble in the monarchy, a strange fate.
In 1951, he was deported from Budapest, then he was imprisoned for eight months, later he became a “non-staff assistant” at the Helikon Library in Keszthely. But it was his hunting expertise and his popular works that allowed him to move back to the capital in the late 1950s.
His words full of evocative forcefulness show signs of a deep knowledge and passionate love of nature.
A never-ending curiosity manifests itself in his photographs, as well, not only towards the flora and fauna, but also towards the people he met on his travels, although he felt most at home away from civilisation, sitting by a campfire. These are photographs taken by a nature-loving humanist count, a book-collector handyman of noble birth, a hunter-writer-photographer, a complex man.
The “One With Nature” World Hunting and Nature Exhibition in Budapest broke visitor records in many aspects, the government commissioner in charge of the expo said on Friday.
The expo which ran between September 25 and October 14, drew a record daily 35,000 visitors on its last day, Zoltán Kovács said in a video message on Facebook.
The expo’s main venue at the Hungexpo fairgrounds attracted 616,000 visitors, the highest number to ever visit an exhibition dedicated to a particular theme, he said.
Brigitte Bardot, the French actress, sex symbol and currently animal rights activist sent a quite strong message to Hungarian hunters and the organisers of the World Hunting Expo in Budapest.
The French actress has been in good relation with her Hungarian colleague, Natália Nagy and her husband, Attila Vincze, Blikkreported. As part of their exchange of letters, the French animal rights activist harshly formed her opinion about the Hungarian Hunting Expo in a handwritten letter. The letter roughly translates to the following:
“Pathetic! Our world is being destroyed by epidemics, our planet is drowning in uncontrolled population growth, the ecological balance is upset. Our world is subdued by barbarism. And in the meantime, you are hunting guided by a mere desire to kill. Well, go f**k yourselves!”
Natália Nagy told Blikk that she has been writing to Brigitte Bardot, who is currently dealing with the protection of Bonobo chimpanzees. According to the Hungarian actress, Bardot’s anger was mainly focused on hobby hunters, who she thinks kill only for amusement.
Hearing about the letter of the now 87-year-old Bargot, the Hungarian hunters also gave voice to their opinion on the matter. According to 24, the famous Hungarian actor Gulya Bodrogi, who happens to be a hunter and is the same age as the French animal rights activist, replied the following:
“Greetings, dear! I love your art, but no need to bother yourself with the protection of game, we will protect them and not just verbally! […] we are predators in the natural order, omnivores, and this must be accepted.”
He also added, that in Africa, where (professional) hunting was banned, the animals went extinct because of senseless killing.
Tamás Csejtei, the guitarist of Back II Back, who is also a hunter commented on the issue criticising the tone of Bardot’s and adding:
“The extremists are always the problem, the dark greens who think hunting is only about killing, but that is not true. If there were no hunting, the wild boar population would grow to one million in two years, one can imagine what the consequences of that would be.”
The expedition will start at the shores of the Indian Ocean, from where Hungarian adventurer Viktor Zichó will approach the highest point of Africa, the 5,895-metre-high peak of Kilimanjaro, by bike.
Originally, the special adventure would have started at the beginning of October, but due to some difficulties with the issuance of the Kenyan visa, the Hungarian extreme athlete started the expedition on Tuesday and will presumably reach the highest point of Africa on 12th October, but in no ordinary way:
According to his plan, he can get up to about 4,900 metres on two wheels, and then on the last 1,000 metres, he will continue partly by pushing the bike, partly by carrying it on his back to the top. The most dangerous part of the extreme cycling-climbing expedition starts from here, as the goal of the Hungarian sportsman is to roll off the top on two wheels, on the rough, high-mountain terrain, reported Index.
Viktor Zichó prepares in Switzerland Photo: facebook.com/KalifaPage
According to the Facebook post that reports about the extreme tour,
“the symbolic purpose of the expedition is to pay tribute to the famous Hungarian-African explorer and hunter, Kálmán Kittenberger, on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of his birth.
Viktor Zichó arrived in Maungu, Africa Photo: facebook.com/KalifaPage
During the 350-kilometre journey, Viktor will also visit several sites that were once visited by Kálmán Kittenberger, and he will place a national-coloured ribbon on the summit in memory of the excellent Hungarian hunter-writer.”
The expedition involves considerable physical effort, as the Hungarian sportsman will complete the entire journey on his own, without the help of motorised vehicles and escorts. Viktor will need to complete about 350 kilometres and nearly 7,500 metres of ascent to the summit. The journey was therefore preceded by a thorough Swiss preparatory climb.
“We will have a lot of excitement in the upcoming days, so follow the Caliph’s side and let’s keep our fingers crossed for Viktor together!” writes the Kalifa team in their post.
The One with Nature – World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition started on September 25 in Budapest and will be open until October 14. Daily News Hungary was there already on the first day so that we could report about the exhibition.
The exhibition is much more about hunting than presenting some sort of human-nature cohabitation. Therefore, only those will find the expo interesting who are interested in hunting.
As we reported before, the expo cost 67 billion HUF (EUR 191.4 million). The choice of its venue (Hungexpo) was perfect even though it was obligatory at the same time since there is no other place in Budapest where it would have been enough space. Hungexpo is the most modern congress centre of Hungary, thanks to its latest revamp. As a result,
despite the multitude of visitors, nobody could feel that the crowd was unbearable.
At the expo’s entrance, there is a magnificent gate made of antlers. That provided a hot topic for Hungarian domestic politics in the last few months. Made of 10 tonnes of fallen antler and 240 million HUF, its height is 16.5 metres, while it spans 20 metres long and wide. The opposition said that the government should have spent the cost of it on other projects because it only angered the people expecting financial help from the government after the crisis instead of such gates. Even so, the gate was completed, and it looks like this now:
Photo: Alpár Kató/DNH
There was no crowd on the first day, and everything went smoothly. You can buy a ticket both online or at the entrance. A daily ticket costs 2,700 HUF (EUR 7.5), while a family ticket or a season ticket is less per capita.
In the D pavilion, right after the entrance, there is the “Fish, Water, People” exhibition, where the collections of the Hungarian national parks await visitors. The next one is the H pavilion, where you can find the Hungarian Central Exhibition.
That is probably the most spectacular part of the expo
with famous Hungarian hunters on the sides, and you can watch documentary movies in the side rooms. In the centre, there are more than one hundred stuffed wild animals.
Moreover, one can marvel at some original pieces of the Seuso treasure and certified copies of the gold treasure of Nagyszentmiklós. On the opposite corner of the pavilion, there are photos and videos of the 1971 world hunting expo organised by Hungary.
In the G and F pavilions, you can find some installations of traditional hunting, the hall of trophies, the 12th Open European Taxidermia Championships and the “Hunting in the 19th century” exhibition.
There are special menus including deer, wild boar, pheasant served in hamburgers, stews or pörkölt.
The biggest pavilion is the International Hall, where the different countries exhibited their hunting options. Some of them did so in hundreds of square metres. Unfortunately, nobody came from West Europe, but there are African countries and even Kuwait from Asia. Members of the Turkic countries are also there, including Turkey, which has a separate exhibition site.
You can learn a lot by simply talking to the people from these countries.
The world hunting expo is open until October 4 in the Hungexpo,
but there are several other related events everywhere in Budapest.
On Saturday, for example, there was an equestrian performance in Kincsem Park. As part of the expo, the Hungarian government renewed some buildings, like the hunting castle of Bodajk.
Interestingly, animal protection organisations demonstrated at the entrance of the expo.
For example, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wanted to raise awareness on the unethical use of animals. They would like to persuade the partakers that hunting serves neither the interests of the people nor the wild animals. The Anima group said it was scandalous that animal protection organisations cannot pay their bills, while hundreds of times more of that sum are spent on a hunting exhibition.
All in all, if somebody likes hunting, nature, stuffed animals and weapons, they should visit the event. You should also go if you want an introduction to the world of hunting, as well.
Hunting has never faced such a challenge in history as in “our time”, when its legitimacy is being questioned; however, hunting is legitimate from the point of view of both man and nature, Zsolt Semjén said at the “One with Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition in Budapest on Sunday.
Speaking at the opening of the 67th general assembly of International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), the deputy prime minister said man’s passion for hunting, which goes back to ancient times, is a “defining part of human anthropology”.
Therefore, Semjén said, “we do not have to explain why we hunt, it is those who deny the heritage of their ancestors who need to explain why they view hunting and hunters with prejudice”.
Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Zoltán Kovács at Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
Neither agriculture, forestry, nor real nature conservation can exist without sustainable hunting, which is also necessary for game management, he argued.
If these arguments are presented to society, Semjén said, there may be debates, but now is the moment to “move from defensive to offensive, because
if we do not do this now, our children and grandchildren will no longer be hunting”. And this, he said, would mean “the destruction of one of the great values and great traditions of mankind.”
The “One with Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition will be a large-scale event that is worthy of Hungary’s hunting culture, which originates from its eastern heritage, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said at the opening ceremony of the event in Budapest on Saturday.
The full range of the programmes on offer includes everything related to hunting from science through gastronomy and sports activities to arts, Semjén said.
In Hungary, there are 70,000 hunters, 700,000 anglers, and many thousands more sports shooters, archers, riders and people with hunting dogs so, including their families, about a quarter of the nation belong to this community, the deputy prime minister said.
Man has always hunted and today the diversity of nature, agriculture and wildlife can no longer be maintained without game management, Semjén said. If it is abandoned anywhere in the world, experience has shown that wildlife begins to perish, where, in turn, it is developed, wild game starts to thrive both in numbers and in quality.
According to the Bible, it is just as wrong to leave the environment to its fate as it is to exploit it, and just as a gardener takes care of the garden entrusted to him, the hunter takes care of the forest, the field, the game, he said.
In line with the principle of sustainability, all elements of the exhibition will be preserved and moved to a worthy place after the event, Semjén said.
Fifty exhibitors from more than one hundred countries will show at the event on a total of 75,000 square metres, which will be accompanied by six international conferences and meetings, Zoltán Kovács, government commissioner in charge of the hunting expo said on public news television channel M1.
The exhibition is expected to attract at least 1 million visitors until October 14.
The government considers environment protection a priority, also ensuring the growth of the economy in a sustainable way, Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said at the opening ceremony of the international hall of the exhibition on Saturday.
Palkovics said that innovation does not exclude environmental considerations as it gives an impetus to adaptation, which is required by the constant change of the world.
Hungary has found the answer to the latest challenges, as its economic performance exceeded pre-crisis levels already in the first half of this year while the global economy is estimated to reach that level only by the end of 2022, the minister added.
Philipp Harmer, Deputy President of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), called the world hunting exhibition impressive. He praised the fact that the event presents hunting not in itself but as an important tool of nature conservation that contributes to the preservation of wildlife.
An exhibition featuring 53 Renaissance drawings of hunting scenes by 16th-century German graphic artist and stained-glass painter Augustin Hirschvogel will open in Budapest’s Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday.
The exhibition is a fringe event of World of Hunting and Nature expo to be hosted by Budapest from September 25 to October 14 under the motto “One with Nature”.
Exhibition featuring 53 Renaissance drawings from German graphic artist and stained-glass painter Augustin Hirschvogel
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Exhibition featuring 53 Renaissance drawings from German graphic artist and stained-glass painter Augustin Hirschvogel
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
As Hirschvogel’s drawings precisely document the hunting methods and depict the weapons, clothes, fauna and society of that age in exquisite detail, deputy director Annamária Vigh told reporters on Friday.
Augustin Hirschvogel’s other works
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Augustin Hirschvogel’s other works
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.
You can also find many of his work on the British Museum’s website HERE.
The exhibition, the first one of the full 53-piece series, also features reproductions of the eight stained-glass windows based on the drawings, Curator Szilvia Bodnár said.
The “One With Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition will be held between 25 September and 14 October in different venues, including Budapest, Hatvan, Gödöllő, Keszthely, Pécs, and Vásárosnamény. This expo will be the largest nature exhibition of 2021, covering a wide range of topics, like hunting, the protection of nature, aquatic habitats, nature conservation, biodiversity, and the sustainable use of nature.
The main venue
Photo: onewithnature2021.org
The 75,000-square-metre venue at HUNGEXPO in Budapest will have 8 pavilions. Foreign exhibitors will have their stands exhibit in the International Hall (Pavilion A). The World Conservation Forum, one of the exhibition’s most important initiatives, will also be held in this location. This forum will provide an opportunity for professional and non-governmental organisations to discuss the most crucial aspects of the future of hunting, fishing, forestry, etc. and nature conservation.
The FeHoVa+ (the International Weapons, Fishing and Hunting Exhibition) and the OMÉK (Hungarian Agriculture and Food Industry Exhibition and Fair) trade fairs will be held in the Commercial Halls (Pavilions B and E).
A total of six international conferences – such as the 35th congress of the International Union of Game Biologists, the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation’s (CIC) 67th General Assembly or the International Hunting and Game Management Conference − will be organised in the Conference Centre (Pavilion C). The Future of Nature Innovation Showroom will also be located in this pavilion, allowing Hungarian startups and companies to present their policies and developments and show that they are creating value in sustainability and nature conservation.
In the Fish, Water and Mankind Pavilion (D),visitors can learn about Hungary’s characteristic water habitats, the native fish fauna of the Carpathian Basin, and different fishing methods. The greatest spectacle of this pavilion will be Hungary’s largest exhibition aquarium, with 2,000 individual fish from almost 50 species.
“the spectacle is rendered more realistic by the following: unusual, water-filled, naturalistic dioramas; live waterfowl; giant muscular sturgeon; thousands of tiny fish; special, rarely seen protected species; taxidermy specimens; nature films projected on the back wall; panoramic printed photographs.”
Those who are interested in traditional hunting methods, such as sighthounds, falconry, bowhunting, and muzzleloader hunting should visit the Hall of Traditional Hunting Methods (Pavilion F).
Photo: onewithnature2021.org
The exhibition Hunting and Hunting Weapons at the Hungarian Agricultural Museum
MTI/Kovács Attila
The Hungarian and International Trophy Exhibition and the 12th Open European Taxidermy Championships, as well as the Hunting in the 21st Century Exhibition will be located in (Pavilion G) where, in addition to the best Hungarian trophies, valuable and rare trophies from around the world will be exhibited. Visitors will also be able to gain insight into international trophy judging.
The Central Hungarian Exhibition “will take visitors on a thousand-year walk around the Carpathian Basin, during which we can experience how the history of the Hungarian people has been made ‘one with nature’ through disciplines that are close to nature.”
This pavilion will display taxidermy specimens presenting Hungarian large game in an area of almost 1,200 square metres.
The Treasures of the Carpathian Basin will be exhibited in an area resembling a cross, which is a reference both to Saint Hubertus – the patron saint of hunters – and to the four points of the compass.
Technology and the most important goals
The “One With Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition will exceed the limits of a traditional fair since, in addition to dioramas, films, displays of live animals and trophies, the exhibition will also showcase and employ the latest AR and VR technologies to present Hungarian hunting traditions and show the importance of the sustainable use of nature.
The exhibition’s most important message is that sustainable hunting is key to nature economy. Organisers want to raise awareness of the importance of nature conservation, the sustainable utilisation of nature, and the coexistence of humanity and wildlife.
The event has so far cost 77 billion forints (~EUR 220,751,794), and one of the main attractions will be a massive gate made of ten tonnes of deer antlers. If you want to read more about this “organic masterpiece”, check out our previous articles:
The exhibition will also be the year’s largest dog-friendly event, which means that in addition to several watering stations, the venues will also have professional veterinary services and a dog-sitting tent.
We have reported that the restrictions introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic will not apply to the Budapest Hunting Expo, and participation at the events will not require an immunity certificate. You can read the complete article HERE.
With less than 10 days until the opening of the exhibition, preparations are going to plan and according to schedule.
The so-called “One With Nature 2021” hunting and nature world exhibition will take place between 25 September and 4 October, with a budget of HUF 67 billion (€ 191.4 million).
The occasion gave reason to order statues from Gábor Miklós Szőke. As we already wrote in our previous article, the main attraction of the exhibition is a giant gate made of deer antlers. It is one of the most talked-about creations in Hungary right now, and it has provoked some outrage among people, especially when the price was disclosed.
Photo: MTI/Péter Lakatos
The gate titled ‘Totem’ is 16.5 metres tall, with a width and length of 20 metres. Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén disclosed that statues will cost HUF 240 million (€ 685,000), wrote hvg.hu. Zoltán Kovács, the government commissioner responsible for conducting the event, wrote on his Facebook page that
“The organic masterpiece made of 10 tonnes of fallen antlers collected by Hungarian hunting companies and forestry institutions embodies the unprecedented unity of Hungarian hunters, thus the unity of the nation, as well as the special cycle of nature.”
The sculptor is a well-known name in sculptural art close to the government. His business is turning in more and more profit. According to Telex, “Dante Birodalom Kft. made a profit of 95 million forints last year, which is almost nine times the amount it achieved a year earlier.”
The gate was so big it had to be transported in pieces using three large trailer trucks. The task had to be performed in the middle of the night in order not to hinder traffic. The pieces have arrived from Csepel to their destination by the early hours of September 11.
More smaller-sized statues were ordered as well. For instance, a 5-metre statue will resemble a famous Hungarian dog breed, the magyar vizsla. Others will embody a giant bear, a hopping rabbit, and a magical deer made of arrows, hvg.hu reports in another article.
Photo: MTI/Péter Lakatos
Photo: facebook.com/zoltanspox
Photo: MTI/Péter Lakatos
Photo: facebook.com/zoltanspox
The total amount of money paid for these is HUF 460 million (€ 1.3 million). The total amount spent on the exhibition, including the renovation of Hungexpo, is more than Huf 70 billion (€ 2 million).
Although the statues are unique in Hungary, they are not the first of their kind. In Wyoming, USA, the first such monument was created in 1953 in Jackson Hole. The creation could be made due to donations and community fundraising, so it essentially cost nearly nothing, compared to the Hungarian version, and the statue soon became a tourist attraction.
The “One With Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition will open on 25 September, and it will be the biggest nature exhibition of 2021, dealing with a wide range of topics, such as hunting, the protection of nature, aquatic habitats, nature conservation, biodiversity, and the sustainable use of nature. The event has so far cost 77 billion forints (~EUR 220.812.872), and one of the main attractions will be a massive gate made of ten tonnes of deer antlers.
In addition to dioramas, films, displays of live animals, and special trophies, the “One With Nature” Exhibition will also showcase and employ the latest technology to present the above-mentioned topics to the general public and relevant specialist audiences. The main event of the exhibition will be held at HUNGEXPO in Budapest from 25 September to 14 October. In addition to this, there will be several other venues outside the capital, including Hatvan, Gödöllő, Keszthely, and Vásárosnamény. The exhibition’s most important message is that sustainable hunting is key to nature economy.
Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, Minister of Agriculture István Nagy, Zoltán Kovács, State Secretary for International Relations and Communications, Bálint Nagy, Béla Hidvégi, Róbert Pálinkás, manager of the Helikon Castle Museum and Jenő Manninger, member of the National Assembly for Keszthely at the inauguration of the new wing of the Keszthely Hunting Museum
MTI/Varga György
It was revealed at the end of March that the government would make a 16-metre-high, 20-metre-wide gate of ten tonnes of deer antlers (which will later be exhibited at a prominent tourist site) for the exhibition, writes 24.hu. Made by sculptor Miklós Gábor Szőke, this monumental work and especially its price have caused quite a stir among politicians and the public.
This attraction will cost 240 million forints (~EUR 688.557).
Olivio Kocsis-Cake, a member of the Dialogue for Hungary party, responded to this news in a Facebook post, commenting on government priorities in a state of health and economic crisis.
The question of whether fewer antlers would have been enough arises. Miklós Gábor Szőke told Index that first, he designed the shape of the gate, and then he started to experiment with 1 tonne of antlers to estimate the final volume. He argued that he would not have been able to give the gate a proper deer form with less material. Many people believed that a great number of deers have to be killed for the construction of the gate, but the sculptor explained that hunting associations were constantly collecting antlers in the forests.
Arthur, the 17-year old brown bear – registered as the largest in Europe – was shot during an illegally organised trophy hunt in a protected area near the village of Ozsdola in Székely Land. Prince Josef-Emanuel of Liechteinstein probably shot the protected animal.
According to the latest news, the case happened in March. A hunting company requested permission from the Ministry of Environment to shoot a young female bear that caused several damages in the farms of the surrounding village, Ozsdola. The permit was obtained; however, the hunters inadvertently shot another bear in the forest of Székely Land.
Arthur, the 17-year-old brown bear whose life was taken, was the most giant bear observed in Romania but probably also one of the largest in the European Union.
The brown bear is strictly protected in the European Union. According to Agent Green, the shot can only be used in serious cases if there is no alternative solution and the bear endangers human lives and property.
According to the Hungarian news portal Székelyföld,
the animal was shot by Josef-Emanuel, Prince of Liechtenstein, who paid € 7,000 for the hunt.
Due to the size differences of the two bears, environmentalists doubt that the prince mixed the two animals. As they commented: “It is clear that the prince did not come to solve the problem of the locals, but to take the greatest trophy home and put it on the wall”, adding that in this case, they are dealing with “poaching”.
Environmentalists are making serious allegations and calling for police and government intervention. As the news portal reports, the Environmental Guard had launched an investigation to determine whether Prince Josef-Emanuel of Liechtenstein had complied with the Ministerial Decree allowing the shooting of a female bear.
Recently, a video has stirred up Hungarian public opinion. The video was recorded on Tuesday and has been the topic of many speculations since. Since the video hit the internet, a few developments have happened. In this article, we aimed to collect every information on the case so far.
In the video that circulated the entire Hungarian internet, a hunter has threatened to shoot a man on the spot, who was walking his dog in a field near Iregszemcse, Tolna county. The video went like this:
National Gamekeeping. Tie the dog there and shut up – yelled the hunter angrily.
I will not tie it there – the man with the dog replied.
Tie it there.
Why would I tie it? It is my dog – meanwhile, the hunter goes back to his car to get his rifle.
Either you tie it there – he shot into the air – either you tie it there, or I will shoot you dead. Quickly, tie it there – the hunter furiously shouted.
It is there, you f*cking shoot it.
Go the f*ck home. Are you coming here to drive game?
No, I am not a hunter. I am walking the dog.
They argued about whether he was using the dog to drive game or merely walking it, and the hunter threatened to shoot him again. The argument continued with a lot of swearing and anger.
You get two years in prison for bringing it out – refers to the dog and game driving.
I am walking it.
The hunter, alluding to the dog’s suspicious panting, tells him that the dog looks like it was driving game just now. The hunter asks him where the package is [the killed game or dropped antlers], – he steps back and proceeds to reload his hunting rifle.
The man with the dog says that the dog is panting because the weather is hot.
At the end of the video, the hunter shouts at the man that next time, he will not get away that easily, nor his dog.
Quite a few things are circulating about the background of the incident on the internet. Index received information from the police. The police identified the 46-year-old man from Iregszemcse. He worked as a professional hunter and had a licence for his two guns, which the police have confiscated.
They initiated a procedure for coercion and have withdrawn his official hunter’s licence.
After the video hit the Internet, many people said that they recognised the man walking the dog and that they know that he places snares in the area, which are known to be used by poachers.
Index also asked a professional dog trainer, who said that Hungarian greyhounds would not pant that loud unless they really drove something.
He said that he would not be able to tire his greyhound that much even with 20 minutes of intense fetching, and also, according to the weather, it was only 15°C, which is not that hot. Apart from the more well-known Hungarian dog breeds, there is one that you might have never heard of.
Index also called the victim, and he said that he previously was imprisoned for two years but for unrelated reasons. He owned a gun that was previously licence-free, but after a new law, he did not take it to the police to acquire a licence for the firearm. He was sentenced to two years for possessing unlicensed firearms.
The events are quite shocking. From the hunter’s part, he crossed the line of what he was supposed to do and what he should have done. Only the man who walked his dog knows whether the accusation was true or not. In his defence, he posted his certificate of good conduct on the internet.
It is also important to note that in Hungary, many open areas and forests are in the possession of the National Hungarian Hunting Chamber (OMVK), and hunters are allowed shoot a dog down in order to stop it from driving game.
Keep this in mind next time you set out into nature to walk your dog. A longer leash might be recommended, and a visibility vest for you and even your dog can keep you safe.
He is under prosecution after, back in 2018, on the course of a hunting event, he shot an underaged propellant – reported the head of the Central Department of Investigation and Prosecution to the MTI.
Imre Keresztes, attorney general, wrote in his statement that the Regional Department of Investigation and Prosecution of Debrecen, the policeman is charged with reckless endangerment resulting from professional misconduct.
According to the indictment, the defendant took part in a joint hunt organised by a hunting organisation back in 2018 with 13 of his fellow hunters and two propellants in a ridge in Borsod.
Before the hunt started, the guide told the safety rules. On the course of the hunt hunters and propellants were moving in the same line and when they arrived on a colin covered with bushes, they were not able to maintain the line and one of the propellants – 14 years old person — on the right of the defendant fell behind. The defendant tried to shoot a rabbit running towards the propellant.
The 33-year-old policeman took a shot with his shotgun towards the direction of the steep colin covered in bushes and tall grass and ultimately shot the minor standing at a 39 metre-distance from him, dressed in a colourful hat and a visibility vest.
The buckshot hit the victim with its six pieces on his right forearm, right and left thighs and left leg, causing him to suffer an injury with a healing time beyond eight days.
According to the indictment the hunter had violated several points of the hunting rules, among others one that states that the hunter can only shoot his weapon if he can recognise the animal without a doubt; and if with the shot he does not endanger the safety or the life of others. It is forbidden to aim at an animal that crosses the line of the hunters or jumps out among the propellants, it is forbidden to shoot from the edge of a colin downwards the valley and before the shot hunters have to measure the expected route and the place of impact after shooting.
The penalty expected to be imposed on the defendant is one year of imprisonment – stated the attorney general. He also added that the indictment written by the Department of Prosecution contains the imposition of a fine.
The Hunting Association of Dorozsma held a traditional New Year’s hunting when a jackal attacked and killed one of the hunters’ Hungarian Vizsla. The tragic case was reported on the Facebook site of Nimród Hunter.
The attack happened on Saturday afternoon. Szikra, the short-haired Hungarian Vizsla came out of a ditch, when the jackal jumped out of the five-foot grass and grabbed him by his throat. The dog drowned within a few minutes.
The jackal tried to attack the hunters as well. According to a hunter, the attack happened so close to them that there was no opportunity to shoot the predator; they could not endanger human lives. After the offence, the aggressive jackal immediately disappeared.
Szikra’s owner said that the whole family is mourning as they profoundly loved the 7-year-old dog whose work was irreplaceable. Szikra grew up with his children; he was a beloved member of the family and a good hunting buddy.
The expert also added that – “The case perfectly demonstrates that jackal is a murderous predator. Its strength, courage and aggressiveness are more intensive than we previously thought, as it chose to kill instead of the possibility to escape.”
