Today the Croatian Hunting Association has more than fifty thousand members. Under the previous regime hunting was the favourite pastime of numerous mortals but exclusive hunting grounds were reserved for the socialist leaders. During the preparation of the Hunting Act we consulted the German legislation. The essence of the Act is that the right to hunt is based on land ownership. Such a proprietory system, which is prevalent in the west, applied here a hundred years ago and up until 1945,' explains Dragutin Gajski, secretary of the Croatian Hunting Association.
Hunting grounds make up as much as eighty percent of Croatian territory.
The remainder are put up for lease by auction. Individuals and organisations make their offers and the highest bidder leases the land for a certain period. Hunting has become an exclusive pastime here. This has provoked a strong negative reaction from many domestic hunters who feel cheated because they have invested a lot of effort and money into the hunting grounds which are now being taken away from them. This negative reaction has contributed considerably to the devastation of forests.