Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Weinviertler Wild
Record Number: 129
Disclosure Date
The history of hunting wild game in the Weinviertel region can be traced back to the reign of Maximilian I (1459 - 1519).
Photo: BMLFUW/A...
Weinviertler Wild
(Weinviertel wild game)
Abstract or claim
Weinviertler Wild includes types of wild game such as rabbit, pheasant and partridge, as well as roe deer, wild boar and red deer.
Out of all these, the greatest significance is attached to rabbit, pheasant and partridge.
Meat from Weinviertler Wild is particularly distinguished by its dark colouring, aromatic flavour and high protein content.
Weinviertler Wild lives and roams free in a natural environment year-round, contributing fundamentally to the sustained upkeep of the landscape of the Weinviertel region. Observing closed seasons guarantees the stock of game in the region is safeguarded.
Name of product, Product class
Venison, meat products
Name of region
Weinviertel region, Lower Austria, Austria
Field of search
Food and agriculture
Name of information provider
Gottfried Klinghofer
Municipal Hunting Official of Mistelbach Municipality
Name of applicant for title
---
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
2100 hunters in Mistelbach municipality
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
---
Descriptors
- History:
Hunting in general:
Humans have been hunting since the Palaeolithic Age. At that time, prey served exclusively as a means of survival and sustenance, with the pelts being used as protection from the elements and the bones to fashion primitive tools and weapons. Meat from animals was an indispensable basis of human nutrition. From the beginnings of such human activity as a hunter right through to the seventh century AD, all game could be caught or slain at any time, in any place and with whatever means available. From the beginnings of such human activity as a hunter through to the seventh century AD, all game could be caught or hunted at any time, in any place and with whatever means available.
With growing settlement of communities and the domestication of animals this brought, hunting increasingly became of secondary importance as a basis for life amongst large parts of the population, and was replaced by agriculture and breeding of livestock.
Hunting in Austria:
Hunting began to be a privilege in the early Middle Ages.
In this way, ordinary famers and citizens, as well as the majority of the lower, landed gentry, were excluded from hunting.
Areas in which the king alone had the right to hunt are described as ‘royal hunting grounds’. As centralised royal power began to dwindle in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the power of regional sovereigns grew. The legal rights previously enjoyed by the king passed to these sovereigns, who claimed the right to hunt on territory they now controlled.
At the end of the Middle Ages (from around 1500), the ‘Jagdregal’ of the sovereign (a law granting the sovereign the right to hunt on another person’s land) resulted in ever greater expansion into areas in which he was not the landowner. The ruler acquired not just ownerless land and the land of the ruling class, but also private land, and by doing so took control of them. This resulted in ever greater circles of people being excluded from the practice of hunting.
From that time onwards, baronial or knightly hunting was no longer about the prey, but the staging, or the ‘how’ of hunting.
The Middle Ages also created a distinction between ‘high hunting’ – hunting for large wild game, reserved for the nobility – and ‘low hunting’ (for lower clergy and the like) for smaller animals such as rabbits and birds, as well as deer, the only type of hoofed game to be classified as small game.
Kaiser Joseph II (1741 - 1790) lifted the monopoly on hunting enjoyed by the landowners and clergy with his ‘Josephine Patent’ of 28 February 1786.
Already by 1818, citizens and farmers were able to acquire or lease a hunt.
But it was not until the hunting patent of Kaiser Franz-Joseph (1830 - 1916) of 7 March 1849 that hunting on another’s land was repealed, and the right to hunt was declared a product of landownership. This was the beginning of private hunting and of communal, or cooperative, hunting.
The first hunting laws in Austria appeared on the statute books at the turn of the twentieth century. During the period of occupation after World War Two (1945 - 1955), the Imperial Hunting Law had to apply in all the provinces of Ostmark, as Austria had been known under Nazi Germany. Hunting law became a provincial issue after the liberation of Austria from Germany, since when each of the nine Austrian federal provinces has had its own provincial hunting law.
The place of venison in cuisine:
For many centuries, hunting did not represent a branch of the economy; instead, it served purely as a source of courtly pleasure.
Most of the fresh meat used in the kitchens at court, in the monasteries and by the nobility, especially in the winter months, was venison, or meat from wild game.
Only in the nineteenth century did game develop into a trading item, when it found its way into the cuisine of wider strata of the population.
Hunting in Lower Austria:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
In a decree issued to the Lower Austrian Forestry Offices in 1495, Maximilian I (1459 - 1519) classified red deer and wild boar, as well as chamois, rabbits, partridges, ducks and herons as high hunting. Bears were classified as low hunting in Lower Austria, although other regions classed them as high hunting.
Classification by ‘high’ and ‘low’ hunting could be found in Lower Austrian hunting regulations until the reign of Josef II.
In Lower Austria, the ruler of the surrounding region played a dominant role in hunting. As a major landowner, moreover, he had the right to hunt across large parts of the province.
Lower Austria was given its own hunting law in 1901.
Professional hunters were not always a legally-recognised group in Lower Austria. In 1995, the Niederösterreichische Berufsjäger-vereinigung (‘Lower Austrian Professional Hunting Association’) was founded by the Lower Austrian Regional Hunting Association, in cooperation with the Regional Chamber of Labour and Regional Chamber of Agriculture. The profession of ‘hunter’ was reintegrated into Lower Austrian hunting law in 1999.
Development of the stock of wild game in Lower Austria:
In the second half of the twentieth century, stocks of hoofed wild game (roe deer, deer, chamois and wild boar) increased, while numbers of small wild game (rabbit, pheasant, partridge and quail) fell rapidly. There were a number of reasons for this, including the loss of suitable biotopes for small game, often drastic increases in the numbers of predators (foxes, badgers, martens, buzzards, marsh harriers, red kites, imperial eagles, saker falcons and storks), and losses of small wild game to road traffic. In reaction to this trend, groups were founded to support the animals involved, management models worked out, and hunting concepts specifically implemented for each type of wild game. Small wild game biotopes were put in place to improve the situation concerning the animals’ habitat. It proved possible to increase rates of reproduction amongst individual small wild game types through intensive regulation of predators. By means of targeted hunt management applicable across the borders of hunting grounds throughout the region, the fundamentals of hunting were redefined to support the population densities of the different types of animal.
Today, Lower Austria is ahead of any other province in Austria in terms of both its stocks of small wild game and the numbers of animals being hunted.
To this day, numerous small wild game biotopes exist in the Weinviertel hunting ground that are regularly maintained.
- Region:
The hilly Weinviertel region (Wine Quarter) is located in northeastern Lower Austria. The name Weinviertel has been in use for the last century.
To the east, the River March flows along the border of the Weinviertel with Slovakia, and to the north lies Moravia (Czech Republic). To the south, the Weinviertel borders the Mostviertel and Industrieviertel (Cider Quarter and Industry Quarter), its borders being the Wagram hill, the Danube and the Marchfeld. To the west, Mount Manhart is the border to the Waldviertel (Forest Quarter).
The Weinviertel includes the administrative districts Gänserndorf, Hollabrunn, Korneuburg, and Mistelbach as well as small parts of the administrative districts of Tulln, Horn, Krems-Land and Wien-Umgebung.
When referred to within the context of the Region of Delight, the Weinviertler Wild region includes Mistelbach, the second-largest municipality in Lower Austria. There are 94 hunting grounds in Mistelbach, ranging between 300 and 2,500 hectares in size. These are primarily cooperative hunts, but also include a number of proprietors’ hunts. The area covers some 130,000 hectares in total.
Some 2,100 hunters devote their time and energy to feeding and hunting wild game in the area. Every year, some 30,000 - 45,000 rabbits and 15,000 - 20,000 pheasants are hunted and brought to market.
The municipality is responsible for supplying 15.2 % of all the rabbits hunted in Austria, and 11.7 % of all the pheasants.
Soil and climatic conditions:
Soils in the Weinviertel region are very diverse due to the large area covered by the region. The predominant soils are loess, clay, primary rocks and black earths.
The climate is continental with Pannonian influence in the very east.
Summers are usually hot and dry; winters are cold, poor in snow and frosty.
The average annual temperature is 10.4 °C. Annual precipitation is low, at between 500 and 600 mm.
The snow cover lasts for around 25 - 30 days, and the region sees approx. 85 days of frost. There are some 1,900 - 2,000 hours of sunshine a year.
Flora:
The meadow flora is the result of local soil and climatic conditions, and characterised by a rich diversity of plants.
Habitat:
Eastern parts of the Weinviertel, especially the Mistelbach region, offer the ideal conditions for wild game to enjoy a stress-free lifestyle roaming free in a purely natural environment.
Small wild game demonstrates differing territorial behaviours, depending on the type and season. While pheasants live in large communities in autumn and winter, the male of the species seeks its own habitat from mid-March onwards, which it shares with 3-6 females.
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The average density of rabbits (autumn stock) in the Mistelbach municipality varies widely. The leading hunting grounds feature densities of more than 4 rabbits per hectare, while the figure for areas without special wild game feeding is just 0.3 rabbits per hectare. This latter figure is below the minimum density for sustainable hunting (around 0.5 rabbits per hectare).
- Wild game:
The term ‘wild game’ is used to describe animals living free in nature and subject to the hunting laws of the respective province.
Wild game is roughly divided into furred and feathered game. ‘Furred game’ includes hoofed game (e.g. red deer, roe deer, wild boar and chamois deer), types of rabbit (rabbit and wild rabbit), rodents (the marmot and beaver) and small furred wild game (brown bear, fox, wolf, badger, polecat and stone marten).
‘Feathered game’ refers to flightless birds, tree birds and waterfowl.
Wild game can also be subdivided according to whether it is classified as ‘large’ or ‘small’ wild game. Large wild game includes hoofed game (other than roe deer), the wood grouse or capercaillie, golden eagle and sea eagle. The region also used to support large wild game species such as bears, lynxes and cranes in the past. “Small wild game“ also includes smaller types of wild game such as roe deer, some types of rabbit, rodents, small furred game (martens) and game birds such as pheasants, partridges, wood grouse, etc.
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The Mistelbach municipality is populated by roe deer, wild boar, red deer and rabbits, as well as flightless birds such as pheasants and partridges.
Out of these, the greatest significance is attached to rabbits, pheasants and partridges.
Production process:
The Mistelbach region offers the ideal conditions for wild game to enjoy a stress-free lifestyle roaming free in a natural environment.
Unrestricted freedom of movement and a highly varied range of nutrition from herbs and grasses are directly responsible for the pleasant flavour of meat from wild game.
Feeding:
Rabbits reach their peak population densities in the summer months. Since the cereal harvest results in a sudden reduction in areas providing animals with cover and that can be used for grazing throughout the Weinviertel, rabbits are given additional feed in the form of fodder beet during this period.
During the winter months, the stock of wild game is usually only given additional feed in the event of sustained, closed snow cover. As a rule, the feedstuff used (sugar beets, carrots, hay) is sourced in the hunting ground in question.
It is strictly forbidden for any medication to be administered.
Hunting:
Hunting of game is ecologically credible and meets the highest standards of humane animal welfare.
Although hunting and closed seasons are regulated under Hunting Law, these can be restricted or extended by the municipal authority under certain circumstances.
Small game is hunted between 1 October and 31 December, and hoofed game between 1 May and 31 December, depending on the type.
Stocks of wild game are sustainably managed.
In the case of hoofed game, a certain percentage of the animals in each age class has to be hunted every year. The municipal authority decides how high this percentage should be. In the case of small wild game, each hunt manager decides him- or herself what percentage of the stock is to be hunted that year. For rabbits, the decision as to how many animals may be hunted depends on the density of the animals in the autumn (this should be 0.5 rabbits per hectare or more) and the population dynamic.
After hunting, the game should be broken apart and gutted as quickly as possible. The meat is then placed in uncut form in a cooled, communal game storeroom in the region to allow it to mature. It is stored at a temperature of 0 - 2 °C. After a day, the meat is either cut up by the hunters and vacuum-packed or frozen, or transported whole to regional butchers, where it can be processed into a range of sausage products.
Nutritional value:
Venison is low in calories and cholesterol, has low fat content and higher protein content than meat from farmed animals. Venison is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12, and is well-known for its mineral content and trace elements such as iron, zinc and selenium.
Quality control and quality distinction:
Before hunting, the hunter inspects the game optically for distinctive features.
The game meat is subjected to a meat inspection by the hunter, and inspected for animal diseases and parasites which can be transferred to humans (e.g. TBC, bladder worms and trichinae). Following the inspection, the meat packaging is given a ‘health mark’, either a five-cornered stamp (meaning it can be sold both within the EU common market and the national market) or a quadratic stamp (national market only).
- Marketing:
Fresh meat is only available during hunting season (from the beginning of October to the end of December, depending on whether it comes from small or hoofed wild game). Processed products can be enjoyed year-round.
Weinviertler Wild is marketed privately, through butchers, weekly markets and gastronomic outlets.
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Connection with geographical area and traditional knowledge:
- Special soil and climatic conditions in the Weinviertel region, with its rich
local flora, make it possible to increase stocks of wild game in a natural
environment.
- The animals’ are fed on grasses and herbs from the region. The vast
majority of additional feed given to the animals comes from sources in
the region.
- Weinviertler Wild: lives and roams free in a natural environment year-round,
reaching maturity by natural selection in the Weinviertel region.
- Thanks to its husbandry, wild game can be produced with characteristic
composition. The meat has a unique aroma and flavour, both of which are
directly related to the local Alpine flora ingested by the animal.
- Production of Weinviertler Wild is the result of traditional knowledge handed
down to those active in this field: traditional knowledge and experience of
hunters (compliance with closed seasons and hunting methods), knowhow
of hunting, maturing of meat, and the experience of processors and gastronomes.
- Utilisation:
Weinviertler Wild is offered both as fresh meat and in processed form.
The fresh venison is wholly boned (rabbit in the pelt, rabbit skinned and gutted, rabbit parts, rabbit parts boned, pheasant in its plumage) and supplied in the form of saddle of venison, leg of venison, shoulder of venison, leg of wild boar, saddle of wild boar, wild boar loin roast and breast of pheasant, some of which are ready to cook.
The processed products range from venison salami, cacciatore (a dried sausage product) with walnuts, through venison liver pâté, uncooked venison sausages, venison bratwurst and wild boar ham, to venison goulash and joint of venison.
Individual hunting societies and butchers from the region also offer ready venison goulash and rolled roast of rabbit.
- Protection:
-
Key Words
Food and agriculture, traditional knowledge, Austria, Lower Austria, Region, Wine quarter, wild game, meat, Weinviertler Wild, Weinviertler wild game, venison, meat from wild game
Bibliography / References
- Amt der Niederösterreichischen Landesausstellung, Abt. III/2-Kulturabteilung.
Jagd einst und heute, Katalog zur Niederösterreichischen Landesausstellung
Schloss Marchegg, Wien, 1978
- Bundesgesetzblatt für die Republik Österreich, 108. Verordnung der
Bundesministerin für Gesundheit und Frauen über die Direktvermarktung von
Lebensmitteln (Lebensmittel-Direktvermarktungsverordnung)
- Das Haarwild
http://www.jagdverb-ooe.at/Wildkunde/Haarwildarten/HAARWILD.htm
- Das Weinviertel – Heimat des "Pfefferls"
http://www.weinvierteldac.at/show_content.php?sid=78
- Die Fleischqualität ist abhängig von:
http://www.8ung.at/kirischitz/beschau.htm
- jagd.wien.at
Das Webportal des Wiener Landesjagdverbandes
http://www.jagd-wien.at/Weidmannsheil.1128.0.html?&no_cache=1
- Jagd
http://de.wikipedia.org./wiki/Jagd
- Genussregion Weinviertler Wild
http://www.weinviertler-wild.at/
- Kammergut
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammergut
- Kennzeichnung durch den Tierarzt
http://www.8ung.at/kirischitz/beschau.htm
- KLETZER et al. Land- und Forstwirtschaft Kellergassen in Mistelbach und den
Kastralgemeinden, Beitrag zu P2 – Institut für örtliche Raumplanung
http://bscw.archlab.tuwien.ac.at/pub/bscw.cgi/d1535479/IFOER1_Bestandsbericht_LF_KG.pdf
- KULTURABTEILUNG-KÄRNTNER LANDESAUSSTELLUNG. Alles Jagd…eine kulturgeschichte,
Kärntner Landesausstellung Ferlach 1997, S. 220
- LEBERSORGER, P. Die Jagd in Niederösterreich. In: Niederösterreich. Eine Kulturgeschichte
von 1861 bis heute, Band 3, Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H. und Co.KG, Wien, Köln, Weimar,
2006, S. 213-235
- MAIER-BRUCK F. (2003): Wild. In: Klassische Österreichische Küche, Seehamer
Verlag GmbH, Weyarn, S. 357-360
- MAIER-BRUCK F. Vom Essen auf dem Lande, 2. Auflage, Verlag Kremayr & Scheriau,
Wien, 1995, S. 162,
- MISCHEK, M. Die Jagd in Niederösterreich vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert,
Diplomarbeit, Wien, 1990
- Niederösterreich- Der Bereich Weinviertel
http://www.wein-plus.de/oesterreich/Weinviertel_A29.html
- Niederwild
http://www.jagd.it/niederwild/index.htm
- RAUCHENECKER, K. BECKMANN, V. Jagdgenossenschaften im Wandel – Ist
Zwangsmitgliedschaft gerechtfertigt?, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin,
Berlin, 2004
http://www.wiwi.uni-muenster.de/06//igt/papers/Workshop11/Abstracts/Dr_V_Beckmann_Fr_K_Rauchenecker/Rauchenecker_Beckmann_IGT_2004.pdf
- Regionales-Gemeinden / Bezirk Mistelbach / Statistik
http://www01.noel.gv.at/scripts/cms/ru/ru2/stat.asp?NR=316
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über das Inverkehrbringen des Fleisches von Wild aus freier Wildbahn
(Wildfleischverordnung), BGBl. Nr. 400/1994
- Weinviertel
http://www.regionalmanagement-noe.at/uploads/perspektiven_weinviertel.pdf
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http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinviertel
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- Weinviertler Wild
http://www.genuss-region.at/article/archive/18585
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- Wild, en.: game, fr.: gibier, it.: cacciagione, caccia, es.: salvajina, venado
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- Wildbret – ein Beitrag für gesunde Ernährung?
http://www.raumberg-gumpenstein.at
All internet references last accessed on 10 November 2009.
Language Code
German
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
Regional contact
Brigitte Ertl
Weinviertler Dreiländereck
Liechtensteinstraße 1
2170 Poysdorf
Phone.: 02552 / 20 444
Fax: 02552 / 20445
E-mail: brigitte.ertl@wde.at
Authors: Doris Reinthaler, Eva Sommer, Erhard Höbaus
29.12.2011, Lebensministerium III/4