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Denmark

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Regulations by topic

Permits

The jagttegn: five conditions, one of them the justice minister’s consent

Only a jagttegn holder may shoot game; it is issued from age 16 to residents, after an examination.

Article 39 is categorical: game may be shot only by persons holding a jagttegn, issued by the environment minister. The jagttegn must be carried while hunting together with photographic identification and shown to the police on demand. Article 40 lists five conditions for issue: permanent residence in Denmark; having turned sixteen; having the necessary eyesight and, more generally, the required mental and physical fitness; having shown by examination sufficient knowledge of commonly occurring game species and of the rules on hunting and wildlife management, including hunting ethics, together with skill in handling smoothbore firearms; and having obtained the justice minister's consent for that purpose. Two rules frame young hunters: a jagttegn may be issued to a person under eighteen only with the consent of the holder of parental authority, and that person may hunt only in the company of someone over eighteen who also holds a valid jagttegn.

Weapons and ammunition

Firearm compulsory, retrieving dog compulsory

Game may only be killed with a firearm; shotgun hunting on non-cloven game requires a suitable retrieving dog.

Article 23 narrows the means of killing to one: game may only be brought down or killed with firearms. Birds of prey and owls may not be used for hunting, and hunting may not take place using live decoys. The environment minister issues detailed rules on which types of firearm and ammunition may be used, on the sale of certain ammunition, and on which ammunition may not be taken hunting. Article 24 imposes a requirement that is as much about ethics as technique: when hunting with a smoothbore shotgun for non-cloven-hoofed game on and from land areas and in reed and rush beds, a suitable retrieving dog must be brought along. Two mobility bans close the picture: hunting may not take place from a motor vehicle or aircraft (article 25), nor from a motorised craft on lakes and other fresh waters (article 26). The minister may also regulate hunting methods and prohibit particular forms within defined areas.

Regulations

Denmark: the hunting right does not detach from the land

The act seeks species- and individual-rich populations; the hunting right may not be sold separately from the property.

The Danish hunting and wildlife management act pursues three aims set out in its first article: to protect game, particularly in the breeding season; to secure the quantity and quality of its habitats through the creation of wildlife reserves and by otherwise establishing, restoring and protecting those habitats; and to regulate hunting so that it is conducted on ecological and ethical principles, with due regard for the protection of game. Article 20 lays down a property rule that is not universal: the landowner's hunting right may not be disposed of separately, nor permanently severed from the ownership itself. The owner may nevertheless transfer the hunting right to others for a fixed period, which may not exceed thirty years at a time. Where the right of use of a property or part of it is transferred, the hunting right, insofar as it belongs to the owner, is deemed included in the right of use unless otherwise agreed. The environment minister may provide that transferring the right to hunt particular species is valid only for a set period.

See also