Poaching
Stories from the region of the Kalkalpen National Park
The densely wooded Reichraminger Hintergebirge and the Sengsengebirge have always been home to all kinds of game. This attracted both hunters and poachers.
The motives why someone poaches are manifold. In earlier times, the first driving force for poaching was often bitter hardship, tormenting hunger. If the theft of game succeeded one time, one was tempted to try it again and again. This could easily develop into passionate poaching.
For some young boys, poaching was almost a ritual of masculinity. They wanted to prove their fearlessness, audacity, strength and courage to rebel against the authorities.
The poacher is aware that he is committing a criminal offence. This play with fire obviously has a charm. But there is also the attitude among Wilderen, that the Lord God created the game for everyone. This attitude requires ignoring the legal conditions. Many a poacher thinks he is a hero who dares to defy the authorities and the laws.
That's why many emotions cling to the poacher's (un)being. This leads to serious crimes based on vindictiveness, fear, greed and demonstration of power and do not shy away from murder and manslaughter.
In the documented poacher stories, encounters between poachers and hunters or foresters have different outcomes. Sometimes a poacher surrenders without resistance, often he flees. Others start a scuffle or use their weapons. There are also reports of hunters taking action against poachers by force of arms.
In some confrontations between poachers and hunters, it is a matter of bare survival for the individual.
A number of poacher stories taken from the archive records have the disadvantage that they have not been preserved in their entirety. Often there is only a report or letter and we do not know how the matter ended. Nevertheless, these incomplete stories are quite remarkable. They reflect a piece of contemporary history.
The individual cases are arranged chronologically and by area, separated according to the catchment areas of the Enns and Steyr valleys. It is preceded by measures taken by the Steyr lordship against poaching and an overview of the penalties imposed.
The period covered extends from 1600 to 1946. In the Steyr Herrschaftsarchiv (in the Upper Austrian Provincial Archives) many reports about poachers have been preserved.
