A small booth operated by the Bowhunter Federation Austria BFA and the German Bowhunting Association DBJV – but a big step for Bowhunting in German speaking countries “Die hohe Jagd und Fischerei” is one of the most important and biggest hunting fairs in Europe.
End of February 2010, the exhibition took place in the Expo Center of Salzburg, and the BFA – together with the German DBJV – were presenting bow hunting for the first time to the more than 44.000 visitors.
The exhibition was a real eye-catcher and an overwhelming success: even though the booth was small compared to the big industry exhibitors, it was nevertheless a great attraction for the visitors.
Videos bow hunting were continuously playing on a big screen and were attracting visitors passing the booth. Many of them stopped and engaged in intensive and constructive dialogues about bow hunting with the booth personnel.
A lot of questions could be answered, a lot of prejudices were eliminated and there was a visible and positive effect on hunter’s opinion the longer the discussions lasted.
It can be safely asserted that the majority of the hunters would accept bowhunting as an alternative “niche” hunting method provided it is conducted properly and after passing a respective education course.Our staff on the stand had barely a chance to have a break or take look around on the fair – but it was well worth it. Both the DBJV and the BFA are convinced, that this exhibition was an important step forward for bowhunting in German speaking countries.