Poaching in Germany comes in many forms: the criminal offense includes illegal hunting of animals during the closed season, wildlife-vehicle collisions and teen hunting using snares and arrows. More on that by DW's peterhille.
When pensioner Willi Heimes was feeding his deer in their enclosure at the end of January, he noticed a trail of blood. After a short while, hikers came by and told him that they had discovered a carcass close to the fence.
Heimes says that he is still in shock. He has been keeping red deer in the Bergisches Land region near Cologne for 40 years. It's his hobby, and he currently has 38 animals. Poaching? He had not seen that until now."Why does someone do this?" Heimes asks."To make money? From that little bit of meat?"Heimes hopes the police will catch the poacher soon. Criminal investigators stopped by again, as a suspect had been filmed at night by surveillance cameras near the enclosure.
, the issue of poaching was suddenly the spotlight. The suspects may have opened fire on the police officers to cover up their illegal meat trade. Investigators found tons of game meat at one of the suspect's homes. Every type of poaching is a criminal offense in Germany. In most cases defendants do not end up in jail. In particularly serious cases, however, five years in prison are possible. That could apply to hunting during the closed season, if the meat is intended for sale or if several poachers hunt in a group carrying firearms – which is what the suspects in Rhineland-Palatinate are believed to have done.