• Off-road vehicle track: Putting off-roaders to the test
• Partner country Croatia presents its top hunting grounds and fishing waters

For almost three decades the JAGD & HUND has been the event for hunters, anglers and dog- and nature lovers. From 2nd to 7th February 2010 the Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund will be opening its doors for the 29th time for Europe’s leading hunting and fishing exhibition. A huge range will again be on offer from around 650 commercial and non-commercial exhibitors from altogether 33 countries. Along with an extensive range of products the JAGD & HUND will be offering a tried-and-tested mix of comprehensive information and exciting entertainment, including events such as spectacular test-driving on an off-road vehicle track, birds of prey flight shows, hunting dog parades, casting sport and fly fishing demonstrations, competitions such as the German stag calling championship and the ladder-building competition, event areas with demonstrations of various types of hunting, an Adventure World for children, concerts by hunting horn blowers, fashion shows, game cooking and much more.

Putting off-roaders to the test

Since it was first introduced in 2007 it has come to rank amongst the main attractions of the JAGD & HUND: the off-road vehicle track in hall 3B. Over the years the area has continually been extended. Visitors can accompany experienced instructors driving over modules such as hunting lodges, axle articulations or a four-metre high seesaw using the latest off-road vehicle models. Visitors can even tackle some of the course obstacles themselves. The test track covers a total area of 1,300 square metres. Experienced experts will be on hand to offer visitors professional and independent advice.

Naturally experiencing different types of hunting

Visitors can experience various types of hunting such as decoy and bait hunting for crows, geese and pigeons as well as flint training and social hunting in a large life-like forest landscape replica. Dog expert Anton Fichtlmeier will also be demonstrating how a well-trained dog goes about keeping contact, being sent off and taking possession of the prey. He will also be showing how to use a dog dangler for training those faithful companions.

Action-packed demonstrations with power saws and leaf blowing machines, the presentation of dog breeds by the German Hunting Dog Association and the bird of prey flight shows by the Order of the German Falconers round off the programme. Well-renowned hunting horn bands will contribute towards an appropriate hunting atmosphere.

Live casting sport

Presentations by celebrity casters and fly fishers will be providing yet more entertainment. Both beginners and the advanced can learn directly from experienced experts the tricks and the ins and outs of casting fishing rods and can watch the reigning team world championship runners-up Heinz Maire-Hensge and Ralf Stein as well as the NRW Youth Casters as they perform their casting sports.

Education for the next generation

It will be particularly the younger visitors who benefit from the life-saving information provided by the special exhibition “Experiencing Nature” on the subject of “wildlife collisions” presented by the Landesjagdverband NRW (NRW Hunting Association), the Förderkreis Lernort Natur (Support Group for Nature Education) in Dusseldorf, the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (Forest Protection Society), the Landesverband NRW (NRW County Association) and the Regionalverband Ruhr (Ruhr Regional Association). And for the very small visitors there will be supervision in the Kiddies’ Adventure World where they can play, draw, paint and make things whilst those who accompanied them can enjoy a leisurely stroll around the exhibition.

Alongside the entertainment visitors in hall 3B will also find a large range of products on offer. Numerous companies will be exhibiting innovations and services from the most varied fields.

Art and hunting handicrafts

What has certainly proved to be most popular for more than ten years now is “German stag calling championship”. The competition will be presenting Germany’s best stag callers on the Friday of the exhibition in hall 4. The competition consists of imitating two young deer - one seeking and one responding and also the calling duel of two stags. Experienced jurors such as hoofed game expert Dr. Kurt Menzel, wild game expert and author Konrad Esterl as well as the chairman of the German Federation of Occupational Hunters Bernd Bahr will make the decision as to who can take the title home with them. On the Saturday the stage will belong to those who can build a hunting ladder the fastest. Three teams, each consisting of two persons will be competing in this ladder-building event. The first team to build a robust ladder within the shortest space of time will be the winner. Exhibition visitors can enjoy more skills related to hunting such as quill stitching, gamsbart binding and carving horns and antlers in hall 4. The presentation of the hunting dog breeds, the bird of prey flight shows and the concerts by hunting horn blowers will also form part of the event programme in halls 4 and 8.

Good fishing in hall 5

Hall 5 is once again in the tight grip of the angler fishers. Associations and clubs will be offering information on native species of fish and giving information on the fishing examination 2010. Experts will be presenting various catching and casting techniques and preparing delicious angler cuisine. Once again there will of course be various specialists on the subject of see fishing, artificial bait, as well as rod-building and fly-making who will be joining in. The fishing forum will be providing interesting talks and the still water biotope will be inviting guests to stop and reflect for a while. There will also be a comprehensive range of angling equipment on offer: from waterproof clothing through to the appropriate bait.

Partner country Croatia: top hunting grounds and fishing waters

As usual in hall 6 next to the Landesjagdverband NRW there will be the mobile Forest Education Centre and the Hunting and Natural Science Museum Burg Brüggen with its new exhibition.

The exhibition cinema in hall 7 promises exciting and entertaining non-stop film contributions from well-known nature and animal film producers such as Andreas Kieling, whilst Hartmut Gerlach has not only interesting facts concerning moufflons but will be showing unusual anatomical specimens and drawings.

And in addition to these the exhibition visitors in this hall will find the most extensive selection of international hunting and angling holidays throughout Europe. This year’s official partner country of the JAGD & HUND, the Republic of Croatia, will be exclusively presenting a country with a long hunting tradition and hunting culture. Of an area of approximately just 57,000 square kilometres, approx. five million hectares are hunting grounds. These are home not only to stags, deer, chamois, moufflons, wild boar and bears but also hares, snipes and rock partridges. There are over one thousand different hunting grounds with the most varied landscapes, from mountains to flood plains from thick forests to the coastal regions of the Adriatic Sea. But it is not only hunters who will find first class opportunities in Croatia. In recent years the country has developed into a top region for anglers. Deep-sea anglers can catch bluefin tuna and at the Dalmatian cliffs in the south it is possible to catch porgy, gilthead and cuttlefish. Anyone interested can look forward to expert advice at the exhibition and book their hunting or angling  holidays in Croatia directly.

Tasty game dishes

As ever delicious smells will be wafting over to greet the visitors to hall 8. To mark the NRW Game Weeks, an event which reaches its climax at JAGD & HUND, expert chefs, professional hunters and cook book authors will be conjuring up delicious game dishes and giving advice on the right wine and matching decoration. Visitors can also find out everything there is to know about processing wild game, including refrigeration.

The complete scope of the JAGD & HUND which will stretch over 6 exhibition halls and cover subjects from care and conservation of wild game to hunting establishments and hunting tourism, hunting vehicles and hunting lodges, fishing, angling holidays and accessories and to countryside protection and nature conservation. Every year the exhibition attracts over 70,000 visitors to Dortmund from Germany and from abroad.

For more information please go to www.jagdundhund.com.

Media information 135 / 2009 - 11.12.2009
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