Over 38,000 visitors attended the four days of the Fishing, Hunting and Arms International Exhibition (FeHoVa) at the HUNGEXPO Budapest Congress and Exhibition Center. This far surpassed last year’s visitor numbers; it seems that the society of hunters and anglers has returned to its previous level of operations after the more than two year-long pandemic period. Exhibitors attended the event from a range of different countries, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Poland, Namibia, Italy, Pakistan and Slovakia. There were a great number of foreign visitors at the event – this was partly due to the 10th anniversary FeHoVa-MEOESZ International Winterdogshow (CAC, CACIB) hosted concurrently with FeHoVa. This year, FeHoVa events took place in four separate pavilions.
For yet another year, hunters and nature-lovers alike had the chance to attend numerous professional and general audience events at HUNGEXPO’s largest Pavilion A, including trophy demonstrations and trophy evaluations, roundtable discussions, screenings and travelogues. The collection of Hungarian big game trophies attracted a large number of visitors, along with the Nadler Trophy Review, the collection of the works of graphic designer András Szunyoghy entitled “Anatomical Studies of Wild Animals” as well as the “Wildlife in Action” diorama.
The charity auction hosted for the first time at FeHoVa also proved to be highly successful. Béla Hidvégi auctioned off his personal belongings – all of which were sold at the exhibition. All proceeds from the auction support the wildlife protection and educational programmes of Vadásztrófea Alapítvány (Hunting Trophy Foundation).
Traditionally hosted at the FeHoVa exhibition, the FeHoVa Cup International Troating Competition attracted less competitors than usual, yet the competition was still a big success.
Anglers and those interested in aquatic wildlife could choose from a wide range of attractions. As customary, demonstrations were hosted in two pools this year: the baitboat tests and the so-called “lure presentations” attracted a large number of attendees. Visitors could admire a wide range of freshwater fish in realistic surroundings similar to their natural habitats in the over 22 thousand litre giant aquarium.
The angler stage hosted a number of famous Hungarian recreational anglers sharing their experiences, including Péter Bakó, Bálint Horváth, Kristóf Raffer and Viktor Veegh. Visitors also had the chance to attend a discussion with two-time world champion Bence Szabó entitled Defending the Title at the FreeStyle Method Feeder World Championship.
The 10th anniversary FeHoVa-MEOESZ International Dog Show (CAC, CACIB) took place concurrently with FeHoVa in two pavilions, hosting the competition of thousands of dogs and their owners from 20 different countries.
