Agriculture: damage caused by game

Damage caused by certain game species (red deer, fallow deer, sika deer, mouflon deer, wild boar, roe deer, wild rabbits and pheasants) is damage to land and plants, even if they have been separated from the ground but not yet harvested.
If a plot of land belonging to a common hunting district is damaged, the hunting association shall compensate the injured party for the damage. If the hunting lessee has assumed compensation for the damage caused by game in whole or in part, the hunting lessee shall be liable for compensation in whole or in part. In the case of private hunting districts, the provisions apply accordingly.
If soil products whose full value can only be assessed at the time of harvest are damaged by wild game before that date, compensation shall be made for the damage caused by wild game to the extent that it occurs at the time of harvest. However, in determining the amount of damage, account must be taken of whether, in accordance with the principles of sound economic activity, the damage can be compensated for by recultivation in the same marketing year.

Game damage to properties on which hunting rests or may not be exercised, e.g. inhabited area, cemetery, parks, will not be reimbursed.
Damage caused by game to vineyards, gardens, orchards, nurseries, avenues, solitary trees, forest crops with wood species other than those occurring in the hunting district or outdoor plantings of horticultural or high-quality commercial plants shall not be compensated if the installation of customary protective devices which are sufficient under normal conditions to avert the damage has been omitted.
Usual protective measures to avert damage to game are game fences designed to keep away from

• red deer and fallow deer a minimum height of 1,80 m,
• Roe deer and wild boar must have a minimum height of 1.50 m (wild boar fences against wild boar must also be fixed to the ground against lifting by wild boars),
• mouflon deer have a minimum height of 2.50 m and
• of wild rabbits have a minimum height of 1,30 m above the ground surface and in this case consist of wire mesh not exceeding 25 mm mesh size and embedded at least 0,20 m deep in the ground,
• or fences that have the same protective effect.
   

Hunting damage is damage caused to land in connection with hunting.

The vast majority of all game and hunting damage is settled directly between the injured person and the hunting tenant by mutual agreement.

Please report any damage in writing to the municipal administration responsible for the damaged property. The municipality has the damage determined and sets the hearing date at which the damage is determined. It also determines how and at what time the damage is to be compensated.

• Federal Hunting Act (BJagdG)

• Hessian Hunting Act (HJagdG)

The claim for compensation for damage caused by game and hunting expires if the entitled party does not report the damage within one week after becoming aware of the damage or would have received it if due care had been taken.
In the case of damage to land used for forestry, it is sufficient if it is registered 2 times a year, in each case by 01.05 or 01.10., with the competent authority.

Only the necessary expenses for the damage assessor shall be deemed to be costs for determining the damage. The costs incurred by the other parties to the proceedings are not recoverable.