Describing a hunt in Slovenia

Yesterday (11/12/2016) I attended a traditional hunt in Slovenia.  A group of hunting friends arranged a hunt in a Govt. territory in the south eastern part of the country near the border with Croatia. This hunting area has a large population of Red Deer, Pigs and Brown Bear. It is a typically wooded forest area.

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This particular Govt. game area is required (called a plan) to shoot 200 red deer and a certain number of pigs (I forgot to ask what that number was) by the end of 2016. The plan is a structured and enforceable requirement based on game counts for the management of game. They were far behind their compulsory quota making our hunt possible.

I do not know how costs were apportioned but I was part of a group of about 20 that each contributed 80 Euro to the days driven hunts and a meal after. At the start of the hunt we were told which animals we were permitted to shoot because every animal had to be part of achieving their annual planned off-take. On this hunt we were allowed to shoot all pigs, female red deer and young red deer males with horns not extending past the height of their ears.  Fox were also permitted to shoot; I gave up on 2 occasions to shoot a fox because often pigs follow the fox and I did not want to create a noise that would detract from the bigger picture.

The meat from the game is kept by the Govt. because we were hunting in a Govt. area. They sell the animals to the venison market and proceeds are used to maintain the game area and feed animals in winter.

After driving for just over an hour from Ljubljana on a secondary type of road we arrived at our meeting place, a local restaurant (Gostilna) in close proximity to the hunting area. Here everyone gathered for a coffee or something stronger and the paperwork for the hunt was completed.  I used the opportunity to jump into a change room and put my thermal clothing on because leaving Ljubljana at -4C I did not expect temperatures of -8C at the hunting area.

In the picture below is Ales Spendal (middle) and Tinus (right) who organised the day for his group of hunting friends.  Typical and necessary with temperatures well below freezing point we are pictured drinking a shot of Chivas Regal before starting the day.

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The hunt was a driven hunt meaning that hunters are placed in an organised pattern with “beaters” and their dogs pushing the game. It is compulsory in this format of hunting to wear high visibility clothing (and a good idea). The day comprised of 3 sessions of the driven hunt; after each we would gather, congratulate the successful hunters, have a small snaps to warm up and prepare for the next driven session. The picture below is a typical scene between the driven sessions.

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The last driven hunt ended at about 15h30 when the light started to fade rapidly and the warmth of a beautiful sunny day began reversing into the cold of winter shadows. We love cold winters because that is how it is supposed to be; warmer climates and especially warmer spells in the winter period create havoc with nature; the reason most bears are no-longer sleeping like they did in the past.  For this reason I was told how to react if confronted by a bear because shooting a bear is only allowed in self defense and after numerous attempts to shout it off. Important is to warn the bear of your presence early on so that he is not surprised by your close encounter causing him to act irrationally.

All hunters and helpers congregate at the end of the hunt in a closing ceremony. I find this tradition truly amazing even though I cannot follow what is being said because (pathetically) I still do not speak Slovene. Hunters throughout the world attest to the comradery of the hunt and even though I do not speak Slovene I feel at home with lovers of the nature and truly awesome people who appreciate the simple things in life.

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After the traditional closing ceremony and more drinks around vehicles we head back to the local Gostilna for our evening meal. The day is not over until after friends have enjoyed the company of each other, consuming an abundance of good food, drink and sharing stories of the day.  The picture below is the local Gostilna that hosted our closing get-together.

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My lessons learnt include preparation the night before so that you remember to take proper clothing, gear, eats and drinks for the many hours spent in the forests. A stool or a backpack with a chair is essential,  you cannot stand all day or sit on frozen ground. Autumn leaves are scattered all over so it is hard to imagine cleaning a space from where you plan to shoot from, but it is possible and matters.  I always select a tree from which to take cover and to use as a shooting support. Probably the most important item not to forget is a HAT because this is a key part of the traditional ceremonies before and after the hunt and to fix a leaf from a tree if you shoot an animal (the other part is placed in the mouth of the deer – to signal the last bite). After each driven hunt session it is easy to see who was successful and therefore who to congratulate.

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Hunting in Slovenia is an essential part of the management of game and the conservation of their animals. Hunting is carried out in a responsible manner and with respect to their environment. Centuries of tradition are maintained and I am truly privileged to have been included as a local.

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Hunting system in sLOVEnia

Dusan, my mentor to becoming a Udenborst hunting family member, but more importantly a great friend

Dusan, my mentor to becoming a Udenborst hunting family member, but more importantly a great friend

I left South Africa for Slovenia in January 2006; the two biggest changes I encountered on arrival:

• It was the coldest week of the past 10 years of living in Slovenia – minus 20 Celsius
• There were no agricultural fences; how was hunting practiced?

The weather in Slovenia is cold, but minus 20 Celsius was the exception. There are some days in winter that drop to minus 10 Celsius, but it is a dry cold. Winters are pleasant because clothing and properly insulated living spaces cater well for the cold. Winters on our family farm in Aliwal North were much “harder” to endure.

Having hunted the first 42 years of my life on our farm in South Africa, and with friends on private farms, created in me a fixed mind-set of “hunting”. I don’t have a personal ego, hence easy to describe myself 10 years ago as ignorant about different global hunting practices. In Slovenia hunting was completely different and it took me a while to understand. Here (and other European countries that I have hunted in) they practice centuries of tradition and systems.

In this BLOG I will write only about the “systems” of hunting in Slovenia. The best way to understand is to think about vast amounts of land with no fencing. The public is free to walk anywhere; you will find Slovenes walking in the forests and mountains in all weather conditions. Owners of land (farmers) have the right to use the land but they have no hunting rights on their land.

Slovenia is broken down into over 500 hunting areas (keep in mind that the population of Slovenia is only 2 million and a land area of 20,000 sq km; each such area has a hunting family responsible for the management of game in their area. If farmers suffer damages from say deer eating their produce or pigs damaging their corn fields, they have to contact the hunting family responsible for the management of game in that area. The hunting family must solve the problem and is liable for damages to the farmer (half of the damages is paid by the Government).

Management of game includes feeding the animals in winter (mainly salt points) and meeting the Government determined quotas of game. Each hunting family is given an animal quota for take-off every year and the hunting family is obligated to meet such targets or they are fined. Hunting families have their own internal rules; in the family I belong to each hunter is allocated an animal species that they may shoot, but when the overall quota is reached then we are notified that we may not shoot further (irrespective of whether you have shot an animal or not).

I was the first non EU nationality to be accepted to a hunting family in Slovenia. The process of admission takes on average 2 years. I was helped through this process by hunting friends in Slovenia, all of whom have hunted with me in South Africa. The first year comprises detailed medical and psychiatric tests, exams in firearms and modules for each animal species, firearms competency and the last module and exam being the legal system of hunting in Slovenia. The 2nd year is more practical, working in a hunting family under the guidance of a mentor.

getting to my needed annual quota of 30 hours, a steep mountainous area at 1100 m altitude

getting to my needed annual quota of 30 hours, a steep mountainous area at 1100 m altitude

Every year each active member of the hunting family has to work 30 hours in their family, these hours to be completed before the 1st of May (start of hunting). In exceptional conditions you can be released provided you pay Euro 300 to the hunting family. Hours and penalties could differ slightly from family to family, but they all apply the same principles. The work is varied, I have done mostly cleaning of the hunting area, feeding of the game in winter, and repairing of hides. Hunting of problem animals to prevent crop damage does unfortunately not qualify as work hours.

Every hunting family is an association with elected presidents and other officers that are responsible to ensure that all laws and obligations are properly adhered to. For example, every hunter must have his firearm signed off by the hunting family prior being permitted to use it for hunting. Shoot days are organised where you are required to achieve 3 shots within a determined circumference of the bull at 100 m. Every hunter as a yearly booklet that records his work hours and his rifles approved for hunting. Seeing some of the firearms at these shoot days (and users) I have got to respect this requirement. It is only fair to game that all hunters and their equipment are proven every year.

There are two categories of “shooting” qualifications in Slovenia, a licensed sports shooter or hunter status. Getting the status of a sport shooter is comprehensive but less problematic than a hunter. Anyone resident in Slovenia who passes the prescribed medical tests and firearms competency tests can qualify as a sports shooter. This status allows you to buy a firearm for sport shooting and its transport to a sport shooting venue or back to the place of safekeeping. Firearms licensed for sport shooting may not be used for hunting. I bought my first firearm in Slovenia (12G Beretta SO5) under the status of a sports shooter.

In a later blog I will discuss the licensing process of firearms in the EU. I’ve included photos of my hunting book that shows the rifles approved for hunting, animals allocated for hunting, hours worked and my hunting card that has a sticker on the back for each of the years of active membership.

Dusan blooded after shooting his first buck near Graaf-Reinet, a springbuck

Dusan blooded after shooting his first buck near Graaf-Reinet, a springbuck

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Hunting Rhoe Deer

My favorite hide gun, a K95 Stutzen, short & light, Peregrine bushmaster - combination shoots like "hell"

My favorite hide gun, a K95 Stutzen, short & light, Peregrine bushmaster – combination shoots like “hell”

The hunting of Rhoe Deer is mostly carried out from a hide in the early morning or in the evening. I remember sitting in a hide with my daughter Demi and she commented, “this is not hunting”. We quickly get trapped into thinking and expecting experiences to be and mirror that which we are familiar with. The proper English terminology for this behavior is paradigm; I refer to it as tunnel vision. This is true across all aspects of life and the reason I encourage people to travel and experience different cultures and different ways of doing things.

My daughter bored, silence in the Hide (or apartments as termed locally)

My daughter bored, silence in the Hide (or apartments as termed locally)

I would like to “stay of” the blog subject for a brief moment on “paradigms”, hoping that my life experiences can influence lives positively. I worked “more or less” in the same work environment for 23 years, and although I was fortunate to have many different roles and responsibilities globally I did not change my environment dramatically enough in order to reinvent myself. Forget about the days of being in the same company your whole life, change every 5 years, it is important to your growth! My relocation and living in Slovenia was the biggest contributor to the changing of my paradigms.

Hunting from a hide was established in Europe centuries back for good reasons. Europe does not have vast open plains, and in Slovenia for example people are free to walk anywhere (obviously not through a farmers crop) hence hunters must be acutely aware of the environment in which they are hunting. A hide gives you height from which to shoot ensuring the bullet is quickly embedded in the ground. Hunting deer alone in the forests is not only a near impossible task but a risk to human lives because almost everyone enjoys walking in nature. The only time hunting is carried out in the forest is during the hunting family “shoot days”. There is communication to the public about the hunting area and the area is sign posted at entry points to inform of the danger.

Roe Deer are relatively small in size with a shoulder height of about 65 cm and a weighing around 25kg. Males have shortish erect antlers and a reddish body with a grey face. Mature roebucks get their set of antlers in December which fully develop by April; they lose them again around late September. Older females can by exception grow a set of smaller antlers. The Rhoe Deer is territorial making it easier to hunt a selected animal as they normally appear in the same area; maybe not every morning or evening but a few times in the week. The main competition is your fellow hunter because whoever gets to the hide first has the right to shoot in that location.

Mature Rhoe Deer, a sign to look for is the clearance of the horns above the ears

Mature Rhoe Deer, a sign to look for is the clearance of the horns above the ears

Rhoe Deer become accustomed to their environment; you will often see deer near the edge of the forest close to a highway. They become totally accustomed to travelling vehicles. When driving through a hunting area and you see a deer then you need to drive past because immediately that the vehicle stops they disappear into the forest (much like shooting crows). I hope to get a quality photo of a deer that I have seen at the shooting range in the city center of Ljubljana. The deer continues eating in the close proximity of the target (100 m range) despite shooting!

Roebuck hunting is not physically demanding because it is mostly carried out from a hide. The weather can influence your hunt; but rain is good since deer tend to come out of the forests before and after the rain. The hunting season for mature males, young males and females is May to end October. Mature females and young deer may be hunted through to the end of December. I do not want to repeat what I wrote in my blog about hunting systems in Slovenia but it is worthwhile to note that there is a Government quota (compulsory) of take-off in every category of deer. The hunting family that I belong to have chosen to limit the quota to 2 per week in order to avoid the full quota from being used up early in the season. Kills from all causes count to the quota such as deer hit by cars.

Kriška Gora mountain range, the hunting area of my family - Udenbošt

Kriška Gora mountain range, the hunting area of my family – Udenbošt

Although I am part of a hunting family there is a lot that I still do not understand. In 2015 I shot a mature Rhoe deer at the end of the season, which coincidentally was the last mature male on the annual quota. Then I was told that I had to shoot a female deer in the same year in order to qualify for another male deer the following year. This hunting family rule came about because hunters did not generally shoot enough female deer in order to meet their annual quota, hence a type of forcing strategy to shoot female deer. Later in 2015 I used the opportunity of farmers reporting of damage to shoot a female deer. I did, but still when the 2016 allocation was made I was not allocated a Rhoe deer to shoot in 2016, so I don’t follow altogether:)

My first Rhoe Deer in Slovenia with my mentor Dusan. The hat & last bite placed in the mouth of the deer is tradition

My first Rhoe Deer in Slovenia with my mentor Dusan. The hat & last bite placed in the mouth of the deer is tradition

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