Feral damage in agriculture: how to report it?
2023. July 27.Unfortunately, there is a steady increase in agricultural wildlife damage, and few people know how to report the problem.
However, unforeseen events can occur in connection with subsidies that make it impossible to meet the commitments made in the subsidies.
But what is required and where should the documents be sent in the first place?
In this article, we tell you what to do in the event of a wildlife loss.
Agricultural game damage
Wild animals can cause significant damage to farmland, whether it is deer, roe deer, wild boar or any other animals living in woods or fields.
Force majeure events caused by wildlife are considered as damage and can be declared if they are unforeseeable, the consequences of which could not have been avoided otherwise in the given situation.
Wildlife damage cannot therefore occur in an area where no provision has been made to prevent wildlife from entering the area.
Damage caused by wild game can only be accepted as a force majeure event by justifying the taking of certain actions.
In addition, you must cooperate in the prevention and reduction of damage caused by wildlife, in consultation with the person authorised to hunt.
In the event of damage or threat of damage, the hunting rights holder must be notified immediately within a maximum of 15 days.
In order to reduce the damage, in the case of agricultural land directly adjacent to woodland, it must be ensured that at least 5 metres from the edge of the wooded area, agricultural crops must be cultivated at a height that allows the detection of game and the hunting to prevent damage.
In the case of an agricultural field, the hunter must agree to the installation of wildlife protection equipment, albeit on a temporary basis.
It should also be remembered that only the user of the land is entitled to apply to the hunting authority for a control hunt because of an overpopulation of game.
What to do?
If the preventive measures have not been successful, you must provide documentary evidence.
Attach copies of invoices, written documentation of the reporting obligations, a declaration by the hunting concession holder and the land user that everything has been done in accordance with the legislation, but that the game has still caused damage to the land. 
What is wildlife damage and what is the main problem?
In the last hunting year, game damage in Hungary was HUF 3.2 billion, a huge increase of about HUF 1 billion compared to the previous year.
In comparison, forest damage is only HUF 50 million, which is almost insignificant.
However, the increase was due in no small part to higher crop prices, since the problem is not necessarily the overpopulation of wildlife.
The hunting law lists the game species that can cause damage.
The big game species that can be a problem are roe deer, fallow deer, wild boar, roe deer and mouflon, but rabbits and pheasants can also cause damage.
“Damage caused by game in agriculture is damage to arable land, orchards and vineyards resulting in the loss of agricultural crops due to the feeding, trampling, trampling or breaking of game.”
These allow you to report wildlife damage on any agricultural land if you have taken all the necessary precautions but the animal has caused a crop loss.
There are 6.5 of the five big game per 100 hectares.
In this context, a significant proportion of the feral pig and deer population is concentrated in the Transdanubian region, which means that this is where most of the reports come from.
This is especially true for the Zselic and its surroundings.
Nevertheless, wildlife damage is also frequent in the lowlands and in the northern parts of the country.
In the latter case, the forest edges are huge, so that wild animals from there also wittingly or unwittingly look around the surrounding agricultural areas.