Large organic estate stops a much-criticized hunting practice

Økologisk Nu

To support the leasing of hunting rights, Danish farms release more than one million pheasants into the wild every year. Both the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, the Danish Animal Welfare Society and the Danish Council on Animal Ethics argue that the release of pheasants for hunting should be banned, but now their efforts have been overtaken by the hunting organizers at Tjele Estate. This is stated in a Facebook post in which Horstmann Hunting Club, which organizes the leasing of hunting rights at Tjele Estate, writes: “2026 will be the last year we release pheasants for hunting at Horstmann Hunting Club and on Tjele Estate’s land. The decision was made in the spring after careful consideration over the past few years. It is a natural next step in the direction our hunting operation has been working toward for many years, and on which we wish to build Horstmann Hunting Club’s future.” The estate is thus switching to a hunting practice that appears to be more in harmony with the values underlying the organic estate, which the year before last launched a range of organic food products, including vegetables, grain products and dairy products, sold by the Føtex and Bilka supermarket chains. A really good decision The release of pheasants for hunting has been criticized from several quarters, and in September this year the Danish Council on Animal Ethics, the Danish Society for Nature Conservation and the Danish Animal Welfare Society called for the breeding and release of pheasants for hunting purposes to be banned altogether. In light of this, Bengt Holst, chairman of the Danish Council on Animal Ethics, is very pleased. Speaking to TV Midtvest, he described the decision to stop releasing pheasants as “a really good decision.” According to Bengt Holst, Tjele Estate is thereby helping to prevent released pheasants from being exposed to a harsh reality for which they are not equipped: “They are released into areas that are completely unfamiliar to them. They do not know the roosting sites or the places where they can find shelter from wind, weather and predators. After they are released, you can see many of them running around bewildered, and many are run over,” he told the television station.

To support the leasing of hunting rights, Danish farms release more than one million pheasants into the wild every year. Both the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, the Danish Society for the Protection of Animals and the Danish Animal Ethics Council argue that a ban should be introduced on releasing pheasants for hunting purposes, but now their efforts are being overtaken by the hunting organisers at Tjele Estate.

This is stated in a post on Facebook, where Horstmann Hunting Club, which organises the leasing of hunting rights at Tjele Estate, writes:

“2026 will be the last year in which we release pheasants for hunting at Horstmann Hunting Club and on Tjele Estate’s land. The decision was made in the spring after thorough consideration over the past few years. It is a natural next step in the direction towards which our hunting operation has been working for many years, and on which we wish to build the future of Horstmann Hunting Club.”

Thus, the estate is switching to a hunting practice that is immediately more in harmony with the values behind the organic estate, which launched an organic food range the year before last featuring vegetables, grain products and dairy products, sold by the Føtex and Bilka chains.

A really good decision

The release of pheasants for hunting has been criticised from several quarters, and in September this year the Danish Animal Ethics Council, the Danish Society for Nature Conservation and the Danish Society for the Protection of Animals launched a demand for a complete ban on breeding and releasing pheasants for hunting purposes.

In that light, the chairman of the Danish Animal Ethics Council, Bengt Holst, is very pleased, describing the decision to stop releasing pheasants as “a really good decision” to TV Midtvest .

According to Bengt Holst, Tjele Estate is thereby helping to prevent the released pheasants from being exposed to a harsh reality for which they are not equipped:

“They are released into areas that are completely unfamiliar to them. They do not know the roosting places or the locations where they can find shelter from wind, weather and predators. After they are released, you can see many of them running around confused, and many are run over,” he tells the television station.