Theoretical and Practical Issues Concerning the Obligation of the Holder of the Hunting Right to Prevent Wildlife Damage

Abstract

The holder of the hunting right has an absolute obligation to compensate for wildlife damage, so in order to claim compensation for wildlife damage, the land user does not have to prove that the holder of the hunting right has failed to fulfil his obligation to prevent wildlife damage, and the holder of the hunting right cannot escape the obligation to compensate by proving that he has fulfilled his obligation to prevent wildlife damage in a manner that could normally be expected in the circumstances. Notwithstanding that, a breach of the multifaceted obligation to prevent wildlife damage by the holder of the hunting right may have legal consequences in the private law relationship between the holder of the hunting right and the land user arising from the wildlife damage. To demonstrate this, the study first examines the content of the wildlife damage prevention obligation incumbent on the holder of the hunting right and the question of the bearing of the costs incurred in connection with the prevention of wildlife damage, then analyses, in the light of this, the legal consequences that may result from a breach of the wildlife damage prevention obligation incumbent on the holder of the hunting right.