Wildlife Cameras Capture Austrian Politician Having Forest Sex

Why don't we do it in the woods? Because someone may be watching us

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An Austrian forest devoid of dirty deeds

Wildlife cameras are set up to capture images of animals in their natural habitat. But in Austria, they recorded a politician having sex in the woods.

The unnamed politician from the Austrian state of Carinthia chose the wrong spot for his intimate moment among the damp leaves and ants — right in front of hidden cameras owned by southern Austria’s Carinthian Hunting Society.

The incident has set off a debate about privacy in Austria and whether wildlife cameras should be allowed to operate unmarked. One data-protection activist says the cameras pose a threat to people’s rights. The cameras should “at least be marked with signs,” Hans Zeger, head of ARGE Daten, an NGO focused on data protection, told Der Spiegel. This would enable people in the forest to “adjust their behavior and avoid the monitored areas.”

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The Carinthian society says labeling the cameras would miss the point: the tree-mounted devices — equipped with motion sensors and infrared night vision — are supposed to blend in so animals aren’t disturbed by them. A lawyer for the hunting society said that people are not allowed to wander in the 400-m part of the forest under surveillance, which is marked with signs.

Perhaps the politician thought strolling into the no-trespassing zone would ensure him extra privacy. No such luck, but at least he can rest assured his unintentional sex tape will not make it into the public domain — the fines for breaching people’s privacy by taping them in sexual situations is $25,000 in Austria.

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