Anniversary conference of the Association of Wildlife Biologists and Hunting Scientists of Germany

The anniversary conference of the Association of Wildlife Biologists and Hunting Scientists Germany e. V. (VWJD) from March 18 to 21, 2026 at the Technical University of Munich in Freising marked 25 years of research and exchange in the fields of wildlife biology and hunting science. Under the guiding theme "Wildlife - between ideology and empiricism", the conference brought together science, practice and society to discuss current challenges in wildlife management in a critical and evidence-based manner.

The focus was on key issues relating to dealing with conflicting goals between nature conservation, utilization and social expectations, the role of scientific data in controversial debates and innovative approaches in research and management. The conference offered a platform for intensive professional exchange and promoted dialog between different perspectives. Research results and findings were presented to a broad audience in numerous talks and poster presentations, discussed together and placed in overarching professional contexts.

The Chair of Forest Protection was involved with two presentations: Prof. Dr. Michael Müller spoke on target-oriented hunting in forests and Claudia Jordan-Fragstein on drone-based thermal imaging technology for assessing the impact of wildlife on forest regeneration.

The conference proceedings with all contributions can be downloaded here.