-*> Sport and Nature in Germany 



that our hunting grounds should be used in as intelligent 

 a way as possible. In Germany this problem has been 

 solved to a remarkable extent. German sport has an 

 important influence on the welfare of the people. Great 

 numbers of our people are strengthened in body and mind 

 by the chase, and, thanks to it, considerable sums of money 

 are added to the resources of the country folk. 



According to a moderate estimate there are now in 

 Germany upwards of half a million sportsmen. Each year 

 they kill about 40,000 head of red and fallow deer, about 

 200,000 roebuck, 4,000,000 hares, 4,000,000 partridges, 

 and 400,000 wild ducks, in all some 25,000,000 kilograms 

 (over 50,000,000 Ib.) of wild game, of a value of 

 25,000,000 marks (,1,250,000), and forming nearly one 

 per cent, of the total meat supply of Germany. The 

 game leases bring in about 40,000,000 marks annually 

 ( / ^2,ooo,ooo). 1 But these very sportsmen, who every year 

 kill such a large quantity of wild animals, must at the 

 same time be protectors and guardians of this same animal 

 life ! Strange as it may seem, many species of wild 

 animals would have been long ago extinct if there were 

 no sportsmen. For imperative reasons, the hunter must 

 at the same time undertake the part of protector. 



1 Besides other sources, I take these data from an interesting article 

 by C. Brock, in the periodical Die Jugd, This writer estimates the area 

 devoted to the chase in the German Empire at 54,000,000 hectares; the 

 number of shots fired in a year at game at 16,000,000, besides some 

 6,000,000 shots fired at animals that are not game. He rightly notes that 

 for the individual the whole business of sport is a losing or non-productive 

 occupation, but one of productive value for the households of the country 

 folk, as about 130,000,000 marks are annually spent upon it. 



183 



