Noise as a weapon against hunting: ‘Nobody can do anything to us’

Six volunteers meet in a parking lot along the A29 at a quarter to eight in the morning. They wear sturdy shoes and black hoodies with their logo on them. It slowly becomes light. Jeffrey divides the work area for that morning in two. The Hoeksche Waard is large. If you want to cross that area, you will need a few cars. The hunting season has started, but there is a chance of rain and then the enthusiasm among hunters is slightly less. “They do it for fun, right,” says Jeffrey.

In total there are about thirty volunteers who can be deployed nationally. There aren’t many, but it’s not fun work either, they all say. In summer the alarm goes off at four o’clock because the hunt starts around sunrise. Often on Saturdays. “People see us as left-wing work-shy scum, but we all have a job,” says Henk, who, like Jeffrey and the other Hunt Saboteurs, does not want his surname in the newspaper for safety reasons. “What unites us is our aversion to hunting. Killing animals for pleasure.”

The selection is strict because a lot is asked of someone. Not only sacrificing Saturday, but a Hunt Saboteur must also possess the necessary self-control. Going wild on the hunters will not be tolerated. Moreover, the hunting scenes are often difficult to watch.

Thrill seekers

“Enough people are reporting,” says Aysis Plet. She is there today as Ban de Hunting coordinator of the Animal Rights organization. “But we have to be able to rely on them. We can’t use sensation seekers. All Hunt Sabs must obey the law. What we do is legal.” If things that are punishable do happen, the police have reason to send the Hunt Saboteurs away. They therefore remain on public roads. There are no threats. There is no shouting. At most, noise is made.

There are three bags with horns in the parking lot. They are mainly used for goose hunting. At sunrise, geese fly from the water to the foraging areas in the meadows to graze there. The hunters hide in ditches, in huts, behind fences, and wait for the geese to fly over. Some of the buckshot they shoot hits the geese. Some crash immediately, others fly on injured. A researcher from Sovon Bird Research Netherlands has found that 25 to 40 percent of the geese in the Netherlands have to live with hail in their bodies. They die later or they suffer pain for the rest of their lives.

“We start making noise when we see the geese flying in the direction of the hunters,” says Jeffrey, who joined the Hunt Saboteurs in 2018. “It’s a pain in the ass. We have to make sure that they swerve at the right time and do not get into the field of fire. Once the geese changed course, dozens of animals were saved and our mission was a success.”

The hunters call hunting management because geese are seen as pests. They cause damage to agricultural fields. “Hunting temporarily produces fewer geese,” says Aysis Plet. “There is indeed some breathing space in the population. But it also ensures larger clutches. Research shows that the goose population is growing by 4 percent annually, despite intensive hunting. The vacated places are amply filled by other animals. Pruning makes things grow, so to speak. So there will eventually be more. This also applies to foxes, beavers, pigs and wolves. Ultimately, hunting only causes suffering.”

‘Live decoy geese’

At a quarter past eight, when all information has been exchanged, the Hunt Saboteurs get into the cars two by two. Today it is not the geese on the program, but the hares. The hunting season is open – from October 15 to December 31. The hare is a freely huntable species, despite the fact that it has been officially listed as ‘sensitive’ on the Red List since 2020, together with the rabbit, the weasel and the basketed bat, which are all dependent on agricultural areas. For this reason, hares are not allowed to be hunted in the provinces of Groningen, Limburg and Utrecht, with the result that hunters from those areas come to the Hoeksche Waard.

The three cars spread out over the area. They keep each other informed via the group app. The horns come with them if they unexpectedly come across a goose hunt somewhere, but horns are of little use for hares. During hare hunting, several hunters comb the meadows and fields via a drive. Whichever direction a hare chooses, it will always be shot at. He rarely escapes. Sometimes he just gets injured, but then the dogs find him later and he is killed anyway.

“Yet our presence makes sense, because the hunters are annoyed by us. They get distracted and regularly call the police,” says Plet.

According to her, when the police come, it is not the hunters but the Hunt Saboteurs who are being checked. “The officers immediately ask for our ID. They are not neutral because they usually know the hunters – they are each other’s neighbors, they go to church together, their children go to school together.”

“We recently saw that live decoy geese were being used,” adds Jeffrey. “They were stuck with their leg on a spike in the ground. They had to watch as their peers were shot out of the sky and fell down. They were visibly stressed because they couldn’t fly. Unbelievable, and of course morally reprehensible.”

‘Piece of population management’

After an hour of driving around, Jeffrey receives a report from one of the other cars: a hunt is underway twenty minutes away. The third car has also been warned. Once on site, a line of people can be seen moving in a broad line from one side of the field to the other. Three of them are children, apparently younger than ten years old.

“We often see that,” says Jeffrey, “children are allowed to walk along at an early age and help carry the dead animals.”

The hunters soon spot the Saboteurs and immediately meet for consultation. Viewers look at each other back and forth. The Saboteurs take photos to demonstrate any abuses.

One of the floats holds a dead wild duck in his hands. Someone comes to the Saboteurs to ask what on earth they are doing there with those viewers and cameras.

“We follow the hunters,” says Henk.

“Why? These people do some population management. They really don’t shoot an animal for fun.”

“They really do that for fun. This has nothing to do with management,” says Henk.

“But why are you standing here? Do you like that too?”

“No, I’d rather do something else on Saturday. We believe that what is happening here is not good. Nature maintains itself. And we want to save what we can save. The hare is on the red list.”

“A hunter knows more about nature than you do.”

“I do not think so.”

“I think so. Do you know what those people have to learn before they can just walk across that field? I can show you what’s behind that permit. You’ll be amazed at that.”

“Hares are on the red list,” says Jeffrey, who joined us.

“Not in the Hoeksche Waard. Try walking with a thermal camera. You’ll be amazed.”

Jeffrey: “But we want to leave the animals alone. We want to coexist with those animals. I don’t need a thermal camera for that. We are here to save as many animals as possible.”

“That’s not possible, because the Netherlands is too densely populated,” the man answers as he walks away in annoyance.

The Hunt Saboteurs see how the hunters pack their bags after the meeting. Jeffrey thinks it is because of the children and that they want to avoid a confrontation: “Of course it has to remain fun, such a drive.”

Legitimate

“Nobody can do anything to us,” Jeffrey concludes. “Agents always ask for our identity card. But they don’t get it. First they must identify themselves, an official in office and in uniform is obliged – according to official instructions article 2 – to first identify themselves to us. If they do not do so, we will not have a conversation and I will ask them to leave because they are disturbing me during my right to demonstrate.” Everyone starts laughing because Jeffrey can quote entire sections of the Criminal Code. “And because we are indeed demonstrators, it is not the police who have anything to say about us, but the mayor.” Jeffrey takes a stack of copies from his pocket. “You are often bluffed,” he continues, waving the copies, “but this is the legislation, which I hand out to ignorant agents.” Everyone starts laughing even harder. They’ve all seen so many times when the police sided with the hunters without ever asking for a permit that they don’t even notice it anymore.

This morning the mission was certainly a success, because at least a number of hares were rescued. The group app is disbanded. A new one will be created next week. It starts to rain harder. A group of geese flies overhead, chatting loudly. “They still have a while,” says Jeffrey, “because there will be no hunting here tomorrow. Then it’s Sunday.”

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