Overview

• The Landtag approved the law on July 3, 2025, by a 52–46 vote to modernize wildlife management in response to forest vulnerabilities
• Environmental Minister Katrin Eder described the negotiated compromise as balancing the interests of hunters, landowners, conservationists and farmers
• The reform shifts authority over minimum cull numbers from district bodies to the state hunting agency and mandates detailed cull plans for wild game
• The Landesjagdverband, representing about 20,000 members, has protested the measure and is preparing a constitutional complaint and a public referendum
• CDU MP Horst Gies has vowed to revise the most contested provisions if his party secures power in the March 2026 state election