Dortmund (kh) – Between 30th January and 4th February 2007, the Dortmund Westfalenhallen trade fair centre will once again become a hunting ground for huntsmen, anglers, dog lovers and nature lovers. In Europe JAGD & HUND is the leading exhibition of hunting and fishing, and every year it attracts around 70.000 visitors to Dortmund from Germany and the neighbouring countries. The comprehensive list of attractions ranges from the care and preservation of wild animals, via hunting interiors and hunting tours, hunting vehicles and huts, fishing and angling, angling tours and equipment, down to the care of the landscape and environment protection. Many new special shows and attraction areas await the visitors

Bulgaria as the official partner country

In 2007 Bulgaria will be presenting itself as the official partner country. Bulgaria contains a total of 37 state hunting grounds with a total area of over 600,000 hectares. These contain 16,000 red deer, 4500 fallow deer, 75,000 roe deer, 50,000 wild boars, 2,200 mouflons, 1,800 chamois, 2,700 wood grouse, 900 brown bears, thousands of pheasants, partridges and warblers, as well as passages of migratory birds, quails, geese and snipe. Every year around 300 huntsmen – many of them regulars – visit Bulgarian hunting grounds. A total of 110 hunting residences, inns, houses and huts are available for hunting tours and day trips. Visitors will be able to learn more about the history and culture of hunting in Bulgaria at a special show presented JAGD & HUND. At the Bulgarian stand they can get direct information on hunting grounds, game and the necessary conditions for hunting tourists. Officials from the national Forestry Commission in Bulgaria will be on hand to provide competent advice and all the necessary information and details required.

Fish leather museum – haute couture straight out of the water

A new special show entitled "The Fish Leather Museum" will tell visitors to JAGD & HUND that it is very possible to recycle fishing waste. There will be a display of high-quality bags, clothing, jewellery and accessories, all made of fish leather which has been tanned by hand.

Thousands of years ago the skins of fish were being tanned by the East Siberian peoples of Nanai, and processed into leather to make a huge variety of clothes. By contrast with traditional leather from cows or calves, fish leather has the advantage of being softer, more elastic, lighter, and simultaneously stronger and more hard wearing. Furthermore, the patterning of the skins means that every piece of material is unique. A further bonus comes from the fact that the special treatment given to fish leather frees it from its typical fish odour.

The artist Mareile Onodera runs a fish leather house in the Bavarian Forest, that is unique in the whole of Germany. It is a mixture of a museum, an artist’s workshop and a fashion shop. Here there is a great demand from customers for clothing, bags, jewellery and other accessories made of hand-tanned fish leather. A selection of these much sought-after original articles can be seen at JAGD & HUND.

6. German tripod stand competition

The 6th German tripod stand construction competition is being held for the first time at JAGD & HUND. Visitors can witness this exciting competition on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February 2007. Three teams of two persons will be competing against each other to build a tripod stand as quickly and solidly as possible. The winner will be selected by a jury of experts. Interesting prizes await both the winners and the participating teams, for none of the competitors will come away empty-handed. Participants will not only be able to take away their prizes, but also their self-made tripod stand. Anyone interested in taking part in the competition can get all the necessary information from Dr. Stefan Sandmeier (089 / 12705 - 218).

For further information on the programme at JAGD & HUND, please see www.jagdundhund.de. Press photos are available from www.westfalenhallen.de – Presseservice – Presse-Login – Downloads.

Media information 153 / 2006 - 11.11.2006