About Deutsche Jagdzeitung

Deutsche Jagdzeitung

The Deutsche Jagdzeitung (DJZ) is a German monthly special-interest magazine for hunters, published by Paul Parey Zeitschriftenverlag in Singhofen in the Taunus region. Launched in 1981, it covers hunting practice, wildlife biology, reportage, equipment tests and hunting policy, complemented by a weapons and gear section, cartoons and seminars for continuing education. As part of the Paul Parey publishing house, it belongs to a portfolio of hunting and angling titles that also includes Wild und Hund, Germany's oldest and highest-circulation hunting magazine, Jagen Weltweit, Fisch und Fang and Der Raubfisch. With a digitally active brand built around its website djz.de, a weekly YouTube news format and the publisher's video and e-commerce platforms, the DJZ serves the modern German hunting community in print, video and online.

Overview

Hunting in Germany is a highly regulated tradition with around 400,000 licensed hunters, and the specialist press plays a central role in their information and community life. The Deutsche Jagdzeitung addresses this audience with a monthly mix that balances practical hunting knowledge with entertainment and political coverage. Its readers are active hunters who manage hunting grounds (Reviere), hunt with dogs, and follow developments in wildlife management, hunting law and equipment technology.

A typical issue combines articles on hunting practice, such as driven hunts, stalking techniques, stand construction and game handling, with wildlife biology features explaining the behaviour and ecology of game species. Reportage takes readers to hunting grounds in Germany and abroad, while the test section puts rifles, optics, clothing and other equipment through their paces. Tips columns offer concise advice for everyday hunting situations, and cartoons provide the humour that has long been part of hunting magazine culture. The weapons and equipment section is a particular focus, reflecting the German hunter's interest in fine firearms and optics.

The publisher also offers seminars for continuing education under the DJZ brand, extending the magazine's role from information to training. This reflects the German hunting system, in which hunters must pass a demanding state examination (Jägerprüfung) and are expected to keep their knowledge current on wildlife diseases, such as African swine fever, legal changes and best practices in game management.

History

The Deutsche Jagdzeitung was founded in 1981 by the Paul Parey publishing house, which has been based in Singhofen in the Taunus since 1996 and traces its own history back to the revolutionary year of 1848. The publisher's flagship, Wild und Hund, had been founded by Paul Parey in 1894 and is Germany's oldest and highest-circulation hunting magazine; the DJZ was created as a second, complementary hunting title with its own editorial profile, giving the publisher two distinct voices in the hunting segment.

Over the following decades, the DJZ established itself alongside its older sibling, and the publisher expanded its portfolio to cover the full spectrum of hunting and angling interests: Jagen Weltweit for hunting travel, Fisch und Fang (founded 1960) and Der Raubfisch for anglers. The publishing house is led by publisher Walterpeter Twer, with Thorn Twer as managing director and Christopher Pilger as publishing manager, and employs around 110 people.

The digital transformation of the 2010s reshaped the brand. In December 2016 the publisher relaunched the websites of Wild und Hund and the Deutsche Jagdzeitung with a focus on user orientation, and built out the PareyGo video portal and the Parey online shop as digital extensions of the print titles. The DJZ's YouTube format "DJZ News", a weekly Wednesday news programme covering topics such as African swine fever cases, hunting law reforms, association elections and wildlife news, has become a fixture of the brand's digital presence, with episodes through 2026 documenting its continued activity.

Coverage and Content

The editorial core of the DJZ is hunting practice in the German tradition. Articles cover the organisation of driven hunts, the construction and maintenance of raised hides, the training and handling of hunting dogs, and the proper treatment of game from shot to table, including the growing interest in game meat as a high-quality, sustainable food. Wildlife biology features explain the ecology of red deer, roe deer, wild boar, fallow deer and small game, as well as predators such as foxes and the returning lynx and wolf, whose spread is one of the most debated topics in German hunting.

Hunting policy is a standing topic. The magazine follows legislative processes affecting hunters, from state hunting law reforms to EU regulations on animal welfare and firearms, and reports on the work of the hunting associations, including leadership elections at the German Hunting Association (DJV) and the state associations. News coverage tracks wildlife diseases, particularly African swine fever, whose spread through wild boar populations has major implications for hunters, as well as conservation conflicts such as the management of nutria populations or visitor pressure on hunting grounds.

The test and service sections serve the equipment-oriented reader: rifles, scopes, thermal imaging devices, hunting clothing and knives are tested and compared, with buying advice grounded in practical hunting experience. Cartoons and lighter columns provide entertainment, while the seminars offered under the DJZ brand give readers structured continuing education. The magazine thus functions as a complete service package for the active hunter: knowledge, equipment guidance, political orientation and community.

Organization and Ownership

The Deutsche Jagdzeitung is published by Paul Parey Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH, based in Singhofen in the Taunus region of Rhineland-Palatinate. The publisher is a dedicated special-interest house for hunting and angling magazines, with the titles Wild und Hund, Deutsche Jagdzeitung, Jagen Weltweit, Fisch und Fang and Der Raubfisch under its roof, plus distribution of the magazine Liebes Land. Walterpeter Twer is the publisher, Thorn Twer the managing director, supported by publishing manager Christopher Pilger, and the company employs around 110 people.

The editor-in-chief of the DJZ is Rolf Roosen, according to reference sources. The editorial team works from Singhofen, supported by freelance authors, photographers and hunting experts who contribute practice articles, reportage and test reports. The publisher operates its own subscription service, the Parey online shop for subscriptions, single issues and edition products, and the PareyGo video portal, giving the magazine a complete commercial and digital infrastructure.

Advertising comes primarily from the hunting and outdoor industry: firearms and optics manufacturers, hunting clothing brands, vehicle makers, and providers of hunting travel. The business model combines print subscriptions, single-issue and special-edition sales, digital revenues and the seminar business, all built on the publisher's deep integration in the German hunting community.

Digital Presence

The website djz.de, relaunched in December 2016, is the digital hub of the brand, publishing hunting news, issue previews, test content and service information. The weekly YouTube format "DJZ News" delivers video news every Wednesday, covering current topics from wildlife disease outbreaks to association politics, and has built a regular audience among hunters who consume the brand's journalism in video form. The magazine is active on Facebook and Instagram, sharing news, catch and hunting photos, issue teasers and community content.

The PareyGo video portal offers streaming films linked to the magazine's topics, available to subscribers, continuing the tradition of the DVDs that were once bundled with issues. The Parey online shop handles subscriptions, single-issue orders and the DJZ Edition products, integrating e-commerce directly with the editorial brand. This combination of print, website, video news, social media, streaming portal and online shop makes the DJZ one of the most digitally developed titles in the German hunting press, with each channel reinforcing the others and the monthly print magazine remaining the editorial flagship.